Hesperus Mountain (Colorado)

Infobox Mountain
Name = Hesperus Mountain
Elevation = convert|13232|ft|m|0|lk=on
Location = Colorado, United States
Range = San Juan Mountains, Rocky Mountains
Coordinates = coord|37|26|42|N|108|05|20|W|type:mountain_region:US
Prominence = convert|2852|ft|m|0|abbr=on [http://www.peaklist.org/USlists/COP2000.html Colorado high-prominence peaks on peaklist.org] ] [http://www.listsofjohn.com/Colorado/Prominence/Pro1k.php Colorado high-prominence peaks on listsofjohn.com] ] See the text of the article for a note about the possibility that nearby Lavender Peak is higher.]
First ascent=unrecorded (probably indigenous)
Easiest route=scramble

Hesperus Mountain or Hesperus Peak is a peak in the La Plata Mountains, a small subrange of the San Juan Mountains, which in turn are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, United States. Though not of particularly high elevation for the region, it is visually quite prominent, as it is near the southern edge of the San Juans.

Hesperus is notable as the Diné (Navajo) Peoples' Sacred Mountain of the North, "Dibé Ntsaa" or "Dibentsaa", which marks the northern boundary of the Dinetah, their traditional homeland. It is associated with the color black, and is said to be impregnated with jet. When First Man created the mountain as a replica of mountains in the Fourth World, he fastened it to the ground with a rainbow and covered it in darkness.Robert S. McPherson, "Sacred Land, Sacred View: Navajo perceptions of the Four Corners Region", Brigham Young University, ISBN 1-56085-008-6.]

If Hesperus is, as has traditionally been understood, the high point of the La Plata Mountains, then it has a high topographic prominence. However this is disputed, with the crown possibly going to nearby Lavender Mountain, about convert|0.4|mi|km|2|abbr=on to the southeast. [http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=17448 Lavender Peak on peakbagger.com] (A detailed account of an unofficial re-evaluation of Hesperus)] If Lavender Peak is slightly higher than Hesperus, then the prominence of Hesperus would only be about convert|410|ft|m|-1|abbr=on. [http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?lat=37.445&lon=-108.089&size=m&symshow=y&datum=nad83&layer=DRG100&s=100 Hesperus Mountain on TopoQuest] ]

ee also

* Navajo people
* Navajo mythology

Notes

External links

* [http://bivouac.com/MtnPg.asp?MtnId=12252 Hesperus Mountain on bivouac.com]