Needle Mountains

Needle Mountains^[1]
Needle Mountains
	Needle Mountains seen from the San Juan Skyway.
Highest point
Peak	Windom Peak
Elevation	14,093 ft (4,296 m)
Listing	Mountain ranges of Colorado
Coordinates	37°37′19″N 107°37′22″W / 37.62194°N 107.62278°W
Geography
	Needle Mountains
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Parent range	San Juan Mountains; Rocky Mountains;

The Needle Mountains are a subrange of the San Juan Mountains of the Rocky Mountains located in the southwestern part of the U.S. State of Colorado. Much of the range is protected in the Weminuche Wilderness of the San Juan National Forest. The range is notable for having some of the most rugged mountains in the state, and includes many technical climbs and scrambles. A small but dramatic east–west subrange in the northern section is known as the Grenadier Range.

Geology

Unlike the rest of the San Juan Mountains, which are volcanic in origin, the Needle Mountains (along with the Grenadier Range) are a mass of uplifted Precambrian rocks. They consist chiefly of quartzite, granite, and amphibolite. The mountains are referred to as the Needle Mountains Uplift.^[2]^[3]

Notable peaks

Windom Peak, 14,093 ft
Mount Eolus, 14,090 ft
Sunlight Peak, 14,065 ft
Pigeon Peak, 13,978 ft
Vestal Peak, 13,870 ft (Grenadier Range)
Turret Peak, 13,841 ft
Jagged Mountain, 13,830 ft
Arrow Peak, 13,809 ft (Grenadier Range)
Animas Mountain, 13,786 ft
Storm King Peak, 13,752 ft (Grenadier Range)
Mount Silex, 13,628 ft
The Guardian (Colorado), 13,617 ft
Leviathan Peak, 13,528 ft
Graystone Peak 13,489 ft
Vallecito Mountain, 13,428 ft
Mount Garfield, 13,074 ft

References

^ "Needle Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ Barker, Fred (1969). Precambrian Geology of the Needle Mountains, Southwestern Colorado (PDF). Washington: United States Government Printing Office.
^ Barker, Fred (1969). "A brief geological history of the Precambrian rocks of the Needle Mountains, southwestern Colorado". In Shomaker, J.W. (ed.). San Juan, San Miguel, La Plata Region (New Mexico and Colorado). Fall field conference guidebook ; 19. New Mexico Geological Society. pp. 148–149.

[1] "Needle Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.

[2] Barker, Fred (1969). Precambrian Geology of the Needle Mountains, Southwestern Colorado (PDF). Washington: United States Government Printing Office.

[3] Barker, Fred (1969). "A brief geological history of the Precambrian rocks of the Needle Mountains, southwestern Colorado". In Shomaker, J.W. (ed.). San Juan, San Miguel, La Plata Region (New Mexico and Colorado). Fall field conference guidebook ; 19. New Mexico Geological Society. pp. 148–149.

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