Mountains & Geology
The Dakota Wall
The Dakota Wall, a sandstone formation nicknamed the "Backbone of the Rockies," was formed when fault lines were broken and turned upright. These great sandstone walls stretch all along the Front Range of the Rockies and are visible in Spanish Peaks Country when traveling through the Cucharas River Valley, over La Veta Pass, and into [...]
Silver Mountain
Silver Mountain rises just east of Mt. Mestas and is composed of the same granitic materials. However, Silver Mountain is also at the center of a set of granitic dikes radiating outward like spokes on a wheel around the mountain. For most of its history, Silver Mountain was known as Dike Mountain. That changed in some circles in the late [...]
The Wet Mountains
The Wet Mountains, a small sub-range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, are named for the amount of snow they receive each winter. Most of the Wet Mountains are in Custer County, although Greenhorn Mountain (the range's tallest summit) and some other parts of the range are in Huerfano County. The granite that composes most [...]
Trinchera Peak
Standing at 13,517 feet, Trinchera ("trench") Peak is the northernmost thirteener in the Culebra Range of the Sangre de Cristos. Trinchera Peak is located near Cuchara where the Culebra Range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains creates a north striking ridge. This ridge formed when flat lying sandstone strata were thrust into a vertical orientation [...]
Greenhorn Mountain
Greenhorn Mountain sits near the northern edge of Spanish Peaks Country. Although the mountain's summit is just 12,347 feet and only ranks as the 1,107 highest peak in the state, there isn’t a higher mountain for over forty miles, making its summit an ideal spot for a 360-degree view. The endless vista of the Great [...]
Mt. Lindsey
14,042-foot Mount Lindsey is a high mountain summit on the Sierra Blanca Massif in the Sangre de Cristo Range. The summit and most of the southern flank of the mountain are privately held, but access to the summit is allowed. In 1954, the name was changed to honor Malcolm Lindsey, a beloved chaperone for the [...]
Mt. Mestas
Mt. Mestas is a mountain summit in the southeastern Sangre de Cristo Range. The 11,573-foot peak is located 3.2 miles southeast of North La Veta Pass. The mountain was known as La Veta Peak until 1949 when it was renamed in honor of PFC Felix B. Mestas, Jr. who was killed in action during the [...]
Volcanic Plugs, Buttes, and Cones in Spanish Peaks Country
Huerfano County has been described as “a broken, tilted and eroded plateau bridging the mountains and the high plains.” Most of the tilting we see today occurred during the Sangre de Cristo upthrust, about 27 million years ago, which tilted the county higher in the west. The easterly flow of the runoff caused the surface [...]
The Great Sand Dunes’ Geology Explained
Given how unique the Great Sand Dunes are, it’s impossible not to have questions about them. The following are some of the most widely asked. Hopefully, yours is on the list! Why are the dunes in this particular spot? Since dunefields develop downwind of their sand supply, we need to know what is supplying the [...]
The Great Dikes
The Great Dikes of Spanish Peaks Country formed during the same period of volcanic activity as the Spanish Peaks, Mt. Mestas, and Silver Mountain. These vertical granite formations were formed by molten rock several thousand feet underground, below and among many layers of sedimentary rock. Over time, the ground rose and the softer rock eroded [...]
Blanca Peak
At 14,351 feet, Blanca Peak is Colorado’s fourth highest peak and the highest summit of the Sierra Blanca Massif, the Sangre de Cristo Range, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Blanca Peak is located at the southern end of the Sangre de Cristo Range. It lies approximately 20 miles northeast of the town of Alamosa [...]
California Peak
California Peak, the 84th highest peak in Colorado, sits along the spine of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains directly north of Mt. Blanca. The 13,855-foot thirteener is more specifically located on the Sierra Blanca Massif, 12.1 miles north of the Town of Blanca, on the drainage divide separating the Rio Grande National Forest and Alamosa [...]
Huerfano Butte
Ten miles north of Walsenburg, just off Highway 25, is Huerfano Butte, a conical-shaped circular plug that draws hundreds of visitors every year. It rises from the ground, contrasting the surrounding gently rolling hills of sagebrush and sparse grass, and gives the impression of being out of place. The butte stands 300-foot high like a [...]
The Spanish Peaks
The Spanish Peaks are geologically distinct from the faulted and uplifted mountains of the Sangre de Cristo range to the west. To the geologist, the Spanish Peaks are prime examples of stocks—large masses of igneous rock layered by sedimentary rock and exposed by erosion. Stocks 27 million years ago, pressures and stresses built up by [...]