La Plata Mountains

The La Plata Mountains are a small subrange of the San Juan Mountains in the southwestern part of Colorado, United States. They are located on the border between Montezuma and La Plata counties, about convert|12|mi|km|0|lk=on northwest of Durango. Their name is Spanish for "silver".

The peaks of the range are easily visible from U.S. Route 160, which skirts the range on the south. The La Plata River and the Mancos River have their headwaters in the range. The Colorado Trail accesses even towards the northern peaks.

The best-known peak in the La Plata Mountains is Hesperus Mountain, which is the Navajo sacred mountain of the north, and which is often listed as the high point of the range. However its near neighbor Lavender Peak may be slightly higher; see the Hesperus Mountain article for details. The five highest summits are listed below.

Five highest peaks

* Lavender Peak, convert|13240|ft|m|0|lk=onThis is an approximate, and unofficial, elevation.]

* Hesperus Mountain, convert|13232|ft|m|0|abbr=on

* Mount Moss, convert|13192|ft|m|0|abbr=on

* Babcock Peak, convert|13180|ft|m|0|abbr=on

* Burwell Peak, convert|12664|ft|m|0|abbr=on

Note

References

* [http://www.peakbagger.com/range.aspx?rid=14673 La Plata Mountains on peakbagger.com]
* "Colorado Atlas and Gazetteer" (first edition), DeLorme Publishing, 1991, ISBN 0-89933-206-4.----