East Spanish Peak is a
prominent mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
that is the
lower
Lower may refer to:
* ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick
Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is sit ...
of the two
Spanish Peaks
The Spanish Peaks are a pair of prominent mountains located in southwestern Huerfano County, Colorado. The Comanche people call them Huajatolla ( ) or Wa-ha-toy-yah meaning "double mountain"
The two peaks, East Spanish Peak at elevation and ...
in the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. The peak is located in the
Spanish Peaks Wilderness
The Spanish Peaks Wilderness is a wilderness area in Huerfano County and Las Animas County, Colorado, United States, located southwest of Walsenburg. All of the wilderness area is located within San Isabel National Forest, which is managed ...
of
San Isabel National Forest
San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado.
It is one of eleven national forests in the state of Col ...
, southeast by south (
bearing 148°) of the
Town of La Veta,
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
,
United States
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, on the
drainage divide
A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...
between
Huerfano and
Las Animas counties.
[ The ]Spanish Peaks
The Spanish Peaks are a pair of prominent mountains located in southwestern Huerfano County, Colorado. The Comanche people call them Huajatolla ( ) or Wa-ha-toy-yah meaning "double mountain"
The two peaks, East Spanish Peak at elevation and ...
are two large igneous stocks which form an eastern outlier of the Culebra Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...
. East Spanish Peak is higher than any point in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
east of its longitude
Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...
; it is also the easternmost point in the United States over , , and feet above sea level.
Geology
East Spanish Peak is the younger of the two Spanish Peaks stocks and was intruded 23.36 +/- 0.18 million years ago. The stock consists of a granite porphyry core surrounded by granodiorite porphyry. It is likely that the granite porphyry represents the upper portion of the magma chamber, the top of which eroded to expose at the summit the less-evolved larger portion of the magma chamber consisting of granodiorite porphyry.
Hiking/climbing
The standard ascent route for East Spanish Peak ascends the west ridge of the peak from the saddle between it and West Spanish Peak. A trail ascends to the saddle from the north side of the peaks.
Gallery
West Spanish Peak Seen From East Spanish Peak in 2016.jpg, West Spanish Peak seen from East Spanish Peak.
East Spanish Peak From Below.jpg, East Spanish Peak seen from below
Ridge Leading to Summit of East Spanish Peak.jpg, Ridge Leading to Summit of East Spanish Peak
See also
*List of Colorado mountain ranges
All the major mountain ranges in the state of Colorado, United States, are considered subranges of the Southern Rocky Mountains.
As given in the table, topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical mode ...
* List of Colorado mountain summits
**List of Colorado fourteeners
This is a list of mountain peaks in the U.S. State of Colorado that exceed of elevation.
In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a ''fourteener'' is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet. This is a co ...
** List of Colorado 4000 meter prominent summits
**List of the most prominent summits of Colorado
The following sortable table comprises the 100 most topographically prominent mountain peaks of the U.S. State of Colorado.
Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea le ...
*List of Colorado county high points
This is a list of the 64 counties of the U.S. State of Colorado by their points of highest elevation. Of the 50 highest county high points in the United States, 30 are located in Colorado. The highest point in Colorado and the Rocky Mountai ...
References
External links
Mountains of Huerfano County, Colorado
Mountains of Las Animas County, Colorado
San Isabel National Forest
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Three-thousanders of the United States
{{Colorado-geo-stub