Mountains & Geology
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 [...]