The Cochetopa Hills are a
ridge of uplands on the
Continental Divide in
Saguache County
Saguache County (suh-WATCH ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,368. The county seat is Saguache.
History
Saguache County was formed December 29, 1866 in the Territory of Colorado wh ...
, southern
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, United States.
Geography
The Cochetopa Hills ridge bridges the southern terminus of the
Sawatch Range
The Sawatch Range or Saguache RangeThe place name "Saguache” is pronounced “Sawatch” . This name derives from the Ute language noun "''sawup''" meaning "sand dunes" and is spelled using the Spanish language version of this name "Saguac ...
to the northern terminus of the
La Garita Mountains
The La Garita Mountains are a high mountain range in the San Juan Mountains, a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains. The mountains are located in Saguache and Mineral counties in southwestern Colorado and are almost entirely managed as public land ...
of the
San Juan Mountains
The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...
System. The Cochetopa Hills are characterized by rolling terrain with peaks between and noteworthy
volcanic
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
geology. The Sawatch Range to the northeast and the La Garita Mountains to the south are characterized by higher peaks.
On
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
topographic maps, the area labeled Cochetopa Hills is roughly bounded by
Antora Peak, the town of
Sargents, the drainage of
Cochetopa Creek, and the town of
Saguache. North Pass on
State Highway 114 and the backcountry Cochetopa Pass allow travel on
Colorado State Highway 114
State Highway 114 (SH 114) is a long state highway in southern central Colorado. SH 114's western terminus is at U.S. Route 50 (US 50) east of Gunnison, and the eastern terminus is at US 285 in Saguache.
Route descriptio ...
from the upper
Rio Grande drainage on the east to the upper
Gunnison River
The Gunnison River is located in western Colorado, United States and is one of the largest tributaries of the Colorado River.
Description
The river flows east to west and has a drainage area of according to the USGS. The drainage basin of ...
drainage on the west.
Sangres.com: Cochetopa Crossing on CO Highway 114
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The practice of naming mid-elevation upland areas in central and southern Colorado using the word hills is also illustrated by the naming of the similar uplands the Arkansas Hills The Arkansas Hills are a mountain range in Central Colorado located between the upper Arkansas River Valley and the upper South Platte River Valley. This landmass is a continuation of the ridge known as the Mosquito Range north of Trout Creek Pass. ...
, between the upper Arkansas Valley and South Park.
See also
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References
External links
{{Coord, 38, 11, 22, N, 106, 35, 14, W, display=title
Ridges of Colorado
Mountains of Saguache County, Colorado
Ranges of the Rocky Mountains
San Juan Mountains (Colorado)
Volcanoes of Colorado