Austin Bluffs Location

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Austin Bluffs Location

Postby KentonB » Sun Dec 18, 2011 6:23 pm

Ok, this has been bugging me for a while. I just took the kids up to Austin Bluffs today in Colorado Springs, and plugged the USGS coordinates into my GPS. For some time, I've noticed a rather large difference between the USGS location and the one on LoJ for this summit.

According to the USGS, it appears the actual location of Austin Bluffs is about 0.4 miles to the NNE of the LoJ point and within a separate contour. Admittedly, the USGS point isn't as high, nor as scenic, but it does seem to be the correct location of the bluff. I didn't see any notes on the page explaining the discrepancy. Am I missing something?
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Re: Austin Bluffs Location

Postby John Kirk » Fri Dec 23, 2011 2:06 am

USGS locations are notoriously arbitrary and do not reflect the locations of the highest elevations/closed contours. This site does the work of establishing the correct highest point for named features that are within the realm of "summits". Going by USGS locations will often lead one to shoulders of hills and not their summits.
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Re: Austin Bluffs Location

Postby KentonB » Fri Dec 23, 2011 5:17 pm

Got it. I think what confused me is that other unranked high points (like nearby Pulpit Rock) are marked at a location/contour that is not the high point. I didn't realize there was a distinction between Summits and Pillars/Ridges. Thanks!
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