Humboldt Peak
Geology (Humboldt Peak) Title: Geologic History of the Crestones Entered by: ztop Added: 6/30/2010, Last Updated: 6/30/2010 Sources: Bolyard, D.W., 1959, Pennsylvanian and Permian stratigraphy of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between La Veta Pass and Westcliffe, Colorado: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 43, p. 1896-1939 Blakey, Ron, 2005 (and updates online)http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/garm.html; Brill, K.G., 1952, Stratigraphy in the Permo-Pennsylvanian zeugogeosyncline of Colorado and northern New Mexico: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 63, p. 809-890 Hoy, R.G. and Ridgway, K.D., 2002, Syndepositional thrust-related deformation and sedimentation in an Ancestral Rocky Mountains basin, Central Colorado Trough, Colorado, USA: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 114, p.804-828 Lindsey, D.A., Clark, R.F., and Soulliere, S.J., 1986, Minturn and Sangre de Cristo formations of southern Colorado; a prograding fan delta and alluvial fan sequence shed from the Ancestral Rocky Mountains, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 41, p. 541-561 One of the most exciting times in Colorado geologic history was the Pennsylvanian period when continental collisions formed the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. Europe and Africa collided with North America forming the Appalachian and Ouachita Mountains, and North America tried to break in two through southern Oklahoma. As the continent was being squeezed and ripped apart, the Uncompahgre highland was uplifted in central and western Colorado, the Front Range and Apishapa uplifts to the east, and the Central Colorado Trough became a deep basin between the two highlands. During the late Pennsylvanian and Permian periods, massive amounts of sediment were shed off the Uncompahgre into the trough. The coarsest sediments are called the Crestone conglomerate (see shredthegnar10's report). Boulders up to 10' in diameter rolled down the mountainsides and were deposited in a pile of sediment that reached more than 9000' in thickness, a massive amount of bouldery rock. It was an environment similar to that of Red Rocks and Garden of the Gods, but must have been much steeper with more dramatic landslides and mudflows. There is very little fine grained sediment, but one notable band is much-beloved by readers on this website. Kit Carson Alley is a bench developed on a 4-6' thick mudstone which is amazingly continuous considering how little fine-grained sediment there is in the Crestones. There are still huge boulders in this mudstone, but its softness allows it to weather out and leave a path across Kit Carson Peak. Ironically, the basin where those rocks were deposited has been inverted and now forms the spine of the Crestone Peaks area of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The cement that holds the boulders together makes the Crestone Conglomerate a stable and hard rock as many climbers appreciate. The sediments form a 3000' high wall on these peaks, a massive amount of coarse-grained conglomerate to be deposited in narrow basin. Largest Version
Name History (Humboldt Peak) Title: Naming of Humboldt Peak Entered by: 14erFred Added: 5/14/2010, Last Updated: 5/14/2010 Sources: Borneman, W.R., & Lampert, L.J. (1978). A climbing guide to Colorado's Fourteeners. Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing Company. Hart, J.L.J. (1977). Fourteen thousand feet: A history of the naming and early ascents of the high Colorado peaks (Second Edition). Denver, CO: The Colorado Mountain Club. Wolle, M.S. (1974). Stampede to timberline: The ghost town and mining camps of Colorado. Chicago: Swallow Books. The mountain was named by German immigrants in honor of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), eminent German geographer, explorer, and mountaineer. In February 1870, Carl Wulsten, a Prussian immigrant and former Civil War general, led a band of German immigrants from Chicago, IL, to the Wet Mountain Valley (east of Humboldt Peak), where they established the first cooperative community in Colorado. (Wulsten's grave lies in the tiny town of Rosita, east of Humboldt Peak.) The immigrants named their town Colfax, in honor of Schuyler Colfax (1823-1885), 18th vice-president of the United States from 1869 to 1873 under Ulysses S. Grant. However, numerous problems plagued the settlers, including poor leadership, inclement weather, and the destruction of their general store, demolished when a barrel of gunpowder exploded leaving them without provisions. By the spring of 1870, the immigrants were disenchanted, and they decided to disband and settle the land on their own. Then, in 1874, Leonard Frederick discovered a vein of silver on the west slope of the Wet Mountain Valley. He constructed a mine to excavate the ore, and for many years the immigrants of the valley worked there for a sizeable profit. Frederick called his mine the Humboldt, and the immigrants of the valley gave the mountain above the mine the same name.

Humboldt Peak

Geology (Humboldt Peak)

Title: Geologic History of the Crestones
Entered by: ztop
Added: 6/30/2010, Last Updated: 6/30/2010
Sources: Bolyard, D.W., 1959, Pennsylvanian and Permian stratigraphy of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between La Veta Pass and Westcliffe, Colorado: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 43, p. 1896-1939 Blakey, Ron, 2005 (and updates online)http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/garm.html; Brill, K.G., 1952, Stratigraphy in the Permo-Pennsylvanian zeugogeosyncline of Colorado and northern New Mexico: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 63, p. 809-890 Hoy, R.G. and Ridgway, K.D., 2002, Syndepositional thrust-related deformation and sedimentation in an Ancestral Rocky Mountains basin, Central Colorado Trough, Colorado, USA: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 114, p.804-828 Lindsey, D.A., Clark, R.F., and Soulliere, S.J., 1986, Minturn and Sangre de Cristo formations of southern Colorado; a prograding fan delta and alluvial fan sequence shed from the Ancestral Rocky Mountains, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 41, p. 541-561

One of the most exciting times in Colorado geologic history was the Pennsylvanian period when continental collisions formed the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. Europe and Africa collided with North America forming the Appalachian and Ouachita Mountains, and North America tried to break in two through southern Oklahoma. As the continent was being squeezed and ripped apart, the Uncompahgre highland was uplifted in central and western Colorado, the Front Range and Apishapa uplifts to the east, and the Central Colorado Trough became a deep basin between the two highlands.
During the late Pennsylvanian and Permian periods, massive amounts of sediment were shed off the Uncompahgre into the trough. The coarsest sediments are called the Crestone conglomerate (see shredthegnar10's report). Boulders up to 10' in diameter rolled down the mountainsides and were deposited in a pile of sediment that reached more than 9000' in thickness, a massive amount of bouldery rock. It was an environment similar to that of Red Rocks and Garden of the Gods, but must have been much steeper with more dramatic landslides and mudflows. There is very little fine grained sediment, but one notable band is much-beloved by readers on this website. Kit Carson Alley is a bench developed on a 4-6' thick mudstone which is amazingly continuous considering how little fine-grained sediment there is in the Crestones. There are still huge boulders in this mudstone, but its softness allows it to weather out and leave a path across Kit Carson Peak.
Ironically, the basin where those rocks were deposited has been inverted and now forms the spine of the Crestone Peaks area of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The cement that holds the boulders together makes the Crestone Conglomerate a stable and hard rock as many climbers appreciate.
The sediments form a 3000' high wall on these peaks, a massive amount of coarse-grained conglomerate to be deposited in narrow basin.

Largest Version

Name History (Humboldt Peak)

Title: Naming of Humboldt Peak
Entered by: 14erFred
Added: 5/14/2010, Last Updated: 5/14/2010
Sources: Borneman, W.R., & Lampert, L.J. (1978). A climbing guide to Colorado's Fourteeners. Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing Company. Hart, J.L.J. (1977). Fourteen thousand feet: A history of the naming and early ascents of the high Colorado peaks (Second Edition). Denver, CO: The Colorado Mountain Club. Wolle, M.S. (1974). Stampede to timberline: The ghost town and mining camps of Colorado. Chicago: Swallow Books.

The mountain was named by German immigrants in honor of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), eminent German geographer, explorer, and mountaineer. In February 1870, Carl Wulsten, a Prussian immigrant and former Civil War general, led a band of German immigrants from Chicago, IL, to the Wet Mountain Valley (east of Humboldt Peak), where they established the first cooperative community in Colorado. (Wulsten's grave lies in the tiny town of Rosita, east of Humboldt Peak.) The immigrants named their town Colfax, in honor of Schuyler Colfax (1823-1885), 18th vice-president of the United States from 1869 to 1873 under Ulysses S. Grant.

However, numerous problems plagued the settlers, including poor leadership, inclement weather, and the destruction of their general store, demolished when a barrel of gunpowder exploded leaving them without provisions. By the spring of 1870, the immigrants were disenchanted, and they decided to disband and settle the land on their own. Then, in 1874, Leonard Frederick discovered a vein of silver on the west slope of the Wet Mountain Valley. He constructed a mine to excavate the ore, and for many years the immigrants of the valley worked there for a sizeable profit. Frederick called his mine the Humboldt, and the immigrants of the valley gave the mountain above the mine the same name.

Geology (Humboldt Peak)

Name History (Humboldt Peak)

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