Cannibal Plateau is a

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

in Hinsdale County, Colorado in the United States. The broad mountain is located in the San Juan Mountains and within the

Powderhorn Wilderness The Powderhorn Wilderness is a wilderness area in Hinsdale and Gunnison counties, Colorado, United States, located northeast of Lake City. Description Most of the northern part of the wilderness area, , about 77.5%, is located on Bureau of ...

, a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

managed by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

Gunnison Field Office and the

Gunnison National Forest The Gunnison National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 1,672,136 acres (2,612.71 sq mi, or 6,766.89 km²) Alferd Packer Alfred Griner Packer (January 21, 1842 – April 23, 1907), also known as "The Colorado Cannibal", was an American prospector and self-proclaimed professional wilderness guide who confessed to cannibalism during the winter of 1874. He and fi ...

. The massacre site is near Lake City, southwest of the plateau.

Geology

Cannibal Plateau is composed of basaltic lava flows of the

Hinsdale Formation The Hinsdale Formation is a geologic formation exposed in southwestern Colorado and northern New Mexico. It has a radiometric age of 4.4 to 26.8 million years, corresponding to the Neogene period. Description The Hinsdale Formation is a bimod ...

, which are dated as 16 to 19 million years old. These lava flows are thought to be among the last volcanic events within the San Juan volcanic field and are therefore some of the best preserved. The Hinsdale Formation lava flows form an expansive alpine highland where the two highest ridges are Cannibal Plateau and nearby

Calf Creek Plateau Calf Creek Plateau is a mountain in the northern San Juan Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The mountain is located in Hinsdale County, and at an elevation of , it is the high point of the Powderhorn Wilderness. Geology Calf ...

Hiking

The easiest route to the summit starts at the Powderhorn Lakes Trailhead located at the northern edge of the wilderness area. The Powderhorn Lakes Trail can be taken southwest . Where the trail turns southeast toward Powderhorn Lakes, leave the trail and continue up the ridge through meadows and eventually alpine tundra to the broad summit of Calf Creek Plateau. From there it is a hike southwest across the tundra to Cannibal Plateau. This requires descending down to the saddle before climbing up to the Cannibal Plateau summit. The elevation gain on this round trip is . This includes the climb of back up to Calf Creek Plateau on the return. The views along this alpine hike are expansive.Trailhead and trail information is available a
Colorado Trail Explorer
This includes information on th
Powderhorn Lake Trailhead
and th
Powderhorn Lakes Trail
Off-trail distances can also be computed. Accessed 15 February 2021 Cannibal Plateau can also be reached from the Devil’s Creek Trailhead to the west and the Deer Lakes, Brush Creek, and Powderhorn Park trailheads to the south. All these routes begin in subalpine forests before emerging into the scenic alpine landscape of the Powderhorn Wilderness.

References

External links

* {{Mountains of Colorado, state=collapsed Landforms of Hinsdale County, Colorado Mountains of Colorado