Highest point San Luis Peak | Country United States of America | |
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Mountains San Luis Peak, Stewart Peak Similar San Luis Peak, Wheeler Geologic Area, Rocky Mountains, South River Peak, Needle Mountains | ||
During the Oligocene epoch, a series of caldera building eruptions of titanic proportions, some as large as VEI-8, devastated what is now Colorado and raised up the mountain chain, part of the San Juan Mountains. The La Garita supervolcano's mega-colossal eruption created 5000 km3 of tephra, the largest eruption known. The volcanic hotspot has been dormant for millions of years and is now of no danger to anyone.
Map of La Garita Mountains, Colorado 81130, USA
Today, they are one of Colorado's lesser known, but more picturesque, wilderness areas - the La Garita Wilderness is, in fact, one of the state's original five. "La Garita means "the lookout" in Spanish, and this wilderness amply deserves the name. From the summit of this wilderness's single fourteener (14,014 foot San Luis Peak), climbers can gaze across the upper Rio Grande Valley and down the long stretch of the San Luis Valley. About 35 miles of the Continental Divide lie well above a sprawling forestland that provides ideal habitats for huge numbers of elk and mule deer.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the following peaks are part of the La Garita Mountains: