Sangre de Cristo Wilderness

Infobox_protected_area | name = Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
iucn_category =

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caption =
locator_x = 90
locator_y = 89
location = Colorado, USA
nearest_city =
lat_degrees = 37
lat_minutes = 23
lat_seconds =
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 105
long_minutes = 30
long_seconds =
long_direction = W
area = 228,044 acres [ [http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=acreage&WID=529 Acreage] ]
established =
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service
U.S.

The Sangre de Cristo Wilderness is a long and narrow wilderness area covering much of the Sangre de Cristo Range in Huerfano County, [Colorado] . All of the wilderness area is located on U.S. Forest Service land within the Pike, San Isabel, and Rio Grande National Forests or on National Park Service land within Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The wilderness area is home to several fourteeners and quite a few thirteeners. Crestone Needle is considered the most difficult.

Flora & Fauna

This wilderness is home to black bears, mountain lions, elk, and bighorn sheep. Forested areas consist predominantly of spruce and aspen.

History

The Peaks had traditional and religious significance to the region's early Spanish settlers, hence the name, which means "Blood of Christ".

Geology

The faulted and uplifted mountains of the Sangre de Cristo are geologically distinct from the Spanish Peaks range to the east.

References

External links

* [http://www.fs.fed.us/ National Forests Website]
* [http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=wildView&wid=529&tab=General&CFID=12170914&CFTOKEN=88996578 Wilderness.net]