Sunshine Peak is a fourteen thousand foot

Fourteener

In mountaineering terminology in the United States, a fourteener is a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet above mean sea level. There are 547 fourteeners in the world. The importance of fourteeners is greatest in Colorado, which has the majority of such peaks in North America...

 mountain peak in the US state of Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. It is located in the San Juan Mountains

San Juan Mountains

The San Juan Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado. The area is highly mineralized and figured in the gold and silver mining industry of early Colorado. Major towns, all old mining camps, include Creede, Lake City, Silverton, Ouray, and...

 in Hinsdale County

Hinsdale County, Colorado

Hinsdale County is the least densely populated of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 790 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat and the only municipality in the county is the Town of Lake City. Hinsdale County is named for George A. Hinsdale, a...

 approximately 9 miles (14 km) south west of Lake City

Lake City, Colorado

The Town of Lake City is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Hinsdale County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 375 at the U.S. Census 2000...

, and about 1 miles (1.6 km) south of Redcloud Peak

Redcloud Peak

Redcloud Peak is a mountain peak over fourteen thousand foot in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the San Juan Mountains in Hinsdale County approximately 7 miles south west of Lake City.-See also:* List of Colorado fourteeners...

. It rises on the north side of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River

Lake Fork Gunnison River

Lake Fork Gunnison River or Lake Fork is a tributary of the Gunnison River in Colorado. The river's source is Sloan Lake near Handies Peak in the San Juan Mountains of Hinsdale County. Lake Fork flows through Lake San Cristobal and Lake City before a confluence with the Gunnison River in Blue...

.

Sunshine Peak has the dubious distinction of being the lowest of Colorado's 54 official fourteeners. It is also not particularly independent from its higher neighbor Redcloud Peak, with a topographic prominence

Topographic prominence

In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...

 of 481 feet (147 m) (the minimum standard for an independent fourteener is 300 feet (91 m)). However it has more and steeper local relief than many of the other fourteeners. For example, it rises 4450 feet (1,356 m) above the townsite of Sherman to the south in only 1.2 miles (1.9 km).

See also

• List of Colorado fourteeners
• Mountain peaks of Colorado
  Mountain peaks of Colorado
  This article comprises three sortable tables of the major mountain peaks of the U.S. State of Colorado.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...
  
  
• Mountain ranges of Colorado
  Mountain ranges of Colorado
  The following table lists the major mountain ranges of the U.S. State of Colorado.-Mountain Ranges:-See also:*4000 meter peaks of Colorado*Colorado mountain passes*Geography of Colorado*Lists of mountains*Mountain peaks of Colorado...