Cimarron Ridge is a ridge in the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. The ridge runs north-south and occupies parts of Gunnison, Montrose, Ouray, and Hinsdale counties. The ridge parallels

U.S. Highway 550 U.S. Route 550 (US 550) is a spur of U.S. Highway 50 that runs from Bernalillo, New Mexico to Montrose, Colorado in the western United States. The section from Silverton to Ouray is frequently called the Million Dollar Highway.

, and parts of the ridge can be seen from points along the highway.

Prominent peaks

Peaks along the ridge include Courthouse Mountain, elevation , and Chimney Rock, elevation . Chimney Rock is known for appearing in the 1969 western motion picture '' True Grit'' and is considered among the most difficult peaks to climb in Colorado.

Geology

The ridge is made up of green and gray tuff breccia and is the "erosional remains of a larger volcanic pile that surrounded several volcanoes." The

Cimarron Ridge Formation The Cimarron Ridge Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation in the United States. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.Weishampel, et al. (2 ...

takes its name from the ridge.

References

{{Mountains of Colorado, state=collapsed San Juan Mountains (Colorado) Ridges of Colorado Mountains of Gunnison County, Colorado Mountains of Montrose County, Colorado Mountains of Ouray County, Colorado Mountains of Hinsdale County, Colorado