Area 893.6 km² | Established 1993 | |
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Location Colorado, United States Governing body U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service Address Rio Grande National Forest, Westcliffe, CO 81252, USA Management National Park Service, United States Forest Service Similar Great Sand Dunes National, North Crestone Creek Ca, Grape Creek RV Park, Horn Creek Conferen Center, US Forestry Departme | ||
Horn lakes trail sangre de cristo wilderness
The Sangre de Cristo Wilderness is a long and narrow wilderness area covering 220,803 acres (893.56 km2) of the Sangre de Cristo Range centered about Saguache and Custer counties, Colorado. Smaller areas are located in Fremont, Alamosa, and Huerfano counties. All of the wilderness area is located on U.S. Forest Service land within the San Isabel and Rio Grande National Forests and Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The wilderness area is home to several fourteeners and quite a few thirteeners. Crestone Needle is considered the most difficult.
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Macey lakes trail sangre de cristo wilderness colorado
Flora & Fauna
This wilderness is home to black bears, mountain lions, elk, and bighorn sheep. Forested areas consist predominantly of spruce and aspen.
History
The Peaks had traditional and religious significance to the region's early Spanish settlers, hence the name, which means "Blood of Christ".
Geology
The faulted and uplifted mountains of the Sangre de Cristo are geologically distinct from the Spanish Peaks range to the east.