Spanish Peaks Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Spanish Peaks Wilderness is a 17,855 acre (72.3 km2) wilderness area in Huerfano County
and Las Animas County
, Colorado
, USA, located 20 miles (8 km) southwest of Walsenburg
. All of the wilderness area is located on U.S. Forest Service
land and located within the San Isabel National Forest
.
and the West Spanish Peak
, rise more than 7000 feet above the arid plains, made the "Double Mountain" an easily recognizable reference point to travelers of all cultures. The West Spanish Peak with an elevation of 13,623 feet (4153 meters), overtops the East Spanish Peak which only has an elevation of 12,708 feet (3866 meters). However, this difference is not readily discernible from a distance.
range to the west. To the geologist the Spanish Peaks are prime examples of "stocks" which are defined as large masses of igneous (molten) rock which intruded layers of sedimentary rock and were later exposed by erosion. When mapped by geologists the Peaks were found to be masses of granite
, granodiorite
, and syenodiorite.
Among the most unusual features of the Spanish Peaks are the great dikes
which radiate out from the mountains like spokes of a wheel. These walls of rock are often spectacular. They are easily visible from the highway north of the peaks (and west of Walsenburg), and pictures of them have been used as type examples in more than one introductory geology textbook. Several can be easily seen up close on back dirt roads, and one (Apishapa Arch) on the south side of the peaks can actually be driven through.
Huerfano County, Colorado
Huerfano County is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county was named for the Huerfano Butte, a local landmark. The county population was 7,862 at U.S. Census 2000...
and Las Animas County
Las Animas County, Colorado
Las Animas County has the largest area of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Las Animas County takes its name from the Mexican Spanish name of the Purgatoire River, originally called El Río de las Ánimas Perdidas en Purgatorio, which means "River of the Lost Souls in...
, 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...
, USA, located 20 miles (8 km) southwest of Walsenburg
Walsenburg, Colorado
The City of Walsenburg or Los Leones is a Statutory City that is the county seat and the most populous city of Huerfano County, Colorado, United States...
. All of the wilderness area is located on U.S. Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
land and located within the San Isabel National Forest
San Isabel National Forest
San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 54 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado....
.
Geography
Las Cumbres Españolas, the Spanish Peaks, are prominent landmarks along the eastern front of the southern Rockies. Their snow-capped summits of the East Spanish PeakEast Spanish Peak
East Spanish Peak is a high mountain peak in the US state of Colorado. It is the lower of the two Spanish Peaks, two large igneous stocks which form an eastern outlier of the Culebra Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.- Geology :...
and the West Spanish Peak
West Spanish Peak
West Spanish Peak is a high mountain peak in the US state of Colorado. It is the higher of the two Spanish Peaks, two large igneous stocks which form an eastern outlier of the Culebra Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains...
, rise more than 7000 feet above the arid plains, made the "Double Mountain" an easily recognizable reference point to travelers of all cultures. The West Spanish Peak with an elevation of 13,623 feet (4153 meters), overtops the East Spanish Peak which only has an elevation of 12,708 feet (3866 meters). However, this difference is not readily discernible from a distance.
History
The Peaks have traditional and religious significance to American Indian tribes including the Apache,Comanche and Ute. Summer thunderstorms, which often form near the summits, were evidence the rain gods worked their magic on the peaks. The common Indian name appears in at least three different spellings in various accounts, reflecting different renditions of oral expression. These are "Wahatoya", Huajatolla" or Guajatoyah", roughly interpreted as "breasts of the earth".Geology
The Spanish Peaks are geologically distinct from the faulted and uplifted mountains of the Sangre de CristoSangre de Cristo
Sangre de Cristo can refer to either:*Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in Northern New Mexico and South-Central Colorado in the United States...
range to the west. To the geologist the Spanish Peaks are prime examples of "stocks" which are defined as large masses of igneous (molten) rock which intruded layers of sedimentary rock and were later exposed by erosion. When mapped by geologists the Peaks were found to be masses of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, granodiorite
Granodiorite
Granodiorite is an intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase than orthoclase-type feldspar. Officially, it is defined as a phaneritic igneous rock with greater than 20% quartz by volume where at least 65% of the feldspar is plagioclase. It usually contains abundant...
, and syenodiorite.
Among the most unusual features of the Spanish Peaks are the great dikes
Dike (geology)
A dike or dyke in geology is a type of sheet intrusion referring to any geologic body that cuts discordantly across* planar wall rock structures, such as bedding or foliation...
which radiate out from the mountains like spokes of a wheel. These walls of rock are often spectacular. They are easily visible from the highway north of the peaks (and west of Walsenburg), and pictures of them have been used as type examples in more than one introductory geology textbook. Several can be easily seen up close on back dirt roads, and one (Apishapa Arch) on the south side of the peaks can actually be driven through.