Fishers Peak is a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

of the Ratón Mesa, which reaches the highest elevation of the collective mesas of the Ratón formation commencing at 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 ...

, a subset of 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 ...

, from the west, 90 miles eastward to the Oklahoma border. Ratón Mesas include Black Mesa,

Johnson Mesa Johnson Mesa is a prominent mesa in Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico just south of the Colorado border. The city of Raton is on the west and the community of Folsom on the east. Description Johnson Mesa is about long, running east to ...

, and

Mesa de Maya The Mesa de Maya is a prominent volcanic tableland rising to above the Great Plains in southeastern Colorado. A narrow finger of the mesa extends eastward through the northeastern corner of New Mexico and a few miles into Oklahoma where it is kn ...

. The prominent mesa is located south by east ( bearing 163°) of the Town of Trinidad in Las Animas County,

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 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 ...

. Fishers Peak is higher than any point in the

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 ...

Fishers Peak State Park

In 2020,

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages the state parks system and the wildlife of the U.S. state of Colorado. Responsibilities include state parks, wildlife areas, and the Colorado Natural Areas Program. History *1937 – The state legislature ap ...

established

Fishers Peak State Park Fishers Peak State Park is a Colorado state park in Las Animas County, Colorado, just south of Trinidad. Trinidad Lake State Park is nearby. The park opened on October 30, 2020, and is still being developed. History The land for the park, for ...

. The park occupies the parcel surrounding and including the peak that was formerly a privately held ranch. It opened in late October 2020.

Contiguous conservation areas

Adjoining Fishers Peak State Park on the east on the mesa below Fishers Peak are two Colorado State Wildlife Areas (SWA): Lake Dorothey, , and James M. John, . Lake Dorothey also adjoins

Sugarite Canyon State Park Sugarite Canyon State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, featuring a historic early-20th century coal-mining camp and natural scenery at the border of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. The park is located on the Colorado� ...

, , in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. The total contiguous acreage in public ownership is thus about .

References

External links

Mountains of Las Animas County, Colorado Two-thousanders of the United States {{Colorado-geo-stub

Fishers Peak State Park

Contiguous conservation areas

See also

References

External links