West Spanish Peak

Coordinates: 37°22′32″N 104°59′37″W / 37.3755699°N 104.9936101°W / 37.3755699; -104.9936101
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
West Spanish Peak
West Spanish Peak from the south
Highest point
Elevation13,631 ft (4,155 m)[1][2]
Prominence3,686 ft (1,123 m)[2]
Isolation20.49 mi (32.98 km)[2]
Listing
Coordinates37°22′32″N 104°59′37″W / 37.3755699°N 104.9936101°W / 37.3755699; -104.9936101[3]
Geography
West Spanish Peak is located in Colorado
West Spanish Peak
West Spanish Peak
Location
class 2

West Spanish Peak is a

bearing 175°) of the Town of La Veta, Colorado, United States, on the drainage divide between Huerfano and Las Animas counties. The summit of West Spanish Peak is the highest point in Las Animas County, Colorado.[1][2][3]

The

Culebra Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. West Spanish Peak is the easternmost 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) mountain peak in the United States. Due to its position well east of the Culebra Range and on the edge of the eastern plains of Colorado, West Spanish Peak enjoys great local vertical relief in almost all directions. For example, it rises over 6,000 ft (1,800 m) in less than 6.5 miles (10.5 km) on both its north and south flanks. Though not a fourteener, West Spanish Peak is the twelfth most topographically prominent
peak in the state.

Geology

West Spanish Peak is an erosional remnant of a predominantly quartz syenite

igneous stock which formed 24.59 +/-0.13 million years ago. It is the focus of over 500 radiating dikes.[4]

Hiking/climbing

The standard ascent route for West Spanish Peak starts at Cordova Pass, a high pass (11,248 ft; 3,428 m) to the west of the peak. It follows a trail for about 2 miles (3.2 km) to treeline. From there, there's a rough path on talus (scree) up the southwest ridge of the peak for an additional 1.5 miles (2.4 km).[5] The trail is very braided and has a tendency to "go to the right" (which is into loose scree). If climbers stay to the left and close to the ridge, the climbing is much easier. At about 13,000 feet (4,000 m) is a large shale buttress to the right that usually has a small pool of warm water at its foot. Once up on the main part of the top ridge, it's an easy hike to the actual summit. The top ridge tends to be 30–100 feet (9.1–30.5 metres) wide and is about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) long before beginning a significant downward trend on the east side of the mountain. To the north and south are very steep descents. At the summit is a large rock cairn with the usual PVC tube and "sign-in" sheet inside. This mountain is very unsafe when there is snow on the ground. Best time to climb: early June through late October. Thunderstorm and lightning activity can be high in July, August and September.

Gallery

  • Igneous dikes, looking north from West Spanish Peak.
    Igneous dikes, looking north from West Spanish Peak.
  • Sunset shot of some Bighorn sheep ewes with the West Spanish Peak in the background.
    Sunset shot of some Bighorn sheep ewes with the West Spanish Peak in the background.
  • West Spanish Peak viewed from near Cordova Pass.
    West Spanish Peak viewed from near Cordova Pass.

See also

References

  1. ^
    NGVD 29 to NAVD 88
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f "West Spanish Peak, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "West Spanish Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  4. ^ "Spanish Peaks". Retrieved 2017-06-11.
  5. ISBN 0-917895-39-8
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=West_Spanish_Peak&oldid=1150973057"