Howard Mountain
[6] Precipitation runoff from the mountain's west slope drains into the South Fork of the Michigan River and the east slope drains into headwaters of the Colorado River except a portion of which is diverted by the Grand Ditch.The counterintuitive direction of water flow is because the Continental Divide forms a loop in this area, whereby the peak's west slope runoff flows to the Atlantic Ocean and the east slope to the Pacific.Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 3,600 feet (1,100 meters) above the Colorado River in three miles (4.8 km) and 2,600 feet (790 meters) above the South Fork Michigan River in one mile (1.6 km).[8] The toponym was officially adopted in 1932 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.[9] Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring.