Southern Rocky Mountains
The Southern Rocky Mountains are a major subregion of the Rocky Mountains of North America located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, the central and western portions of Colorado, the northern portion of New Mexico, and extreme eastern portions of Utah. The Southern Rocky Mountains are also commonly known as the Southern Rockies, and since the [|highest peaks] are located in the State of Colorado, they are sometimes known as the Colorado Rockies, although many important ranges and peaks rise in the other three states. The Southern Rockies include the highest mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains and include all 30 of the highest major peaks of the Rockies.
The Southern Rocky Mountains are generally divided from the Western Rocky Mountains by the Green River and the Colorado River below the Green River. The Southern Rockies are divided from the Central Rocky Mountains by South Pass in Wyoming and the drainage running east from the pass down the Sweetwater River and the North Platte River; and the drainage running southwest from the pass down Pacific Creek and Sandy Creek to the Green River. This divide between the Southern Rockies and the Central Rockies provided the lowest elevation traverse of the Rocky Mountain region for the historic Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the California Trail. The southern end of the Rocky Mountains are considered to be the Jemez Mountains and the Southern Sangre De Cristo mountains of New Mexico. Mountains south of here in N.M. are classified as the Arizona/New Mexico Mountains using the EPA Level III Ecoregions System.
This article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least 100 meters of topographic prominence, and a major summit as a summit with at least 500 meters of topographic prominence. An ultra-prominent summit is a summit with at least 1500 meters of topographic prominence.
All elevations in this article include an elevation adjustment from the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. For further information, please see this United States National Geodetic Survey .
Mountain ranges
The following table lists the mountain ranges and subranges of the Southern Rocky Mountains with their highest summit.Mountain peaks
Highest summits
The following sortable table lists the 57 mountain peaks of the Southern Rocky Mountains with at least of topographic elevation and at least of topographic prominence.Rank | Mountain Peak | State | Mountain Range | Elevation | Prominence | Isolation |
1 | Sawatch Range | - | - | - | - | |
2 | Sawatch Range | - | - | - | - | |
3 | Collegiate Peaks | - | - | - | - | |
4 | Sierra Blanca | - | - | - | - | |
5 | La Plata Peak | Collegiate Peaks | - | - | - | |
6 | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
7 | Crestones | - | - | - | - | |
8 | Mosquito Range | - | - | - | - | |
9 | Elk Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
10 | Front Range | - | - | - | - | |
11 | Sawatch Range | - | - | - | - | |
12 | Front Range | - | - | - | - | |
13 | Front Range | - | - | - | - | |
14 | San Miguel Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
15 | Mount Princeton | Collegiate Peaks | - | - | - | |
16 | Mount Yale | Collegiate Peaks | - | - | - | |
17 | Maroon Peak | Elk Mountains | - | - | - | |
18 | Sneffels Range | - | - | - | - | |
19 | Capitol Peak | Elk Mountains | - | - | - | |
20 | Pikes Peak Massif | - | - | - | - | |
21 | Needle Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
22 | Handies Peak | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | |
23 | Culebra Range | - | - | - | - | |
24 | La Garita Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
25 | Sawatch Range | - | - | - | - | |
26 | Grizzly Peak | Collegiate Peaks | - | - | - | |
27 | Sawatch Range | - | - | - | - | |
28 | Vermilion Peak | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | |
29 | Mount Silverheels | Front Range | - | - | - | |
30 | Rio Grande Pyramid | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | |
31 | Bald Mountain | Front Range | - | - | - | |
32 | Mount Oso | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | |
33 | Mount Jackson | Sawatch Range | - | - | - | |
34 | Bard Peak | Front Range | - | - | - | |
35 | Peak 10 | Tenmile Range | - | - | - | |
36 | Spanish Peaks | - | - | - | - | |
37 | Gore Range | - | - | - | - | |
38 | Mummy Range | - | - | - | - | |
39 | Tower Mountain | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | |
40 | Treasure Mountain | Elk Mountains | - | - | - | |
41 | Indian Peaks | - | - | - | - | |
42 | Parry Peak | Front Range | - | - | - | |
43 | Williams Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
44 | Sultan Mountain | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | |
45 | West Buffalo Peak | Mosquito Range | - | - | - | |
46 | Mount Herard | Sangre de Cristo Range | - | - | - | |
47 | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
48 | Dolores Peak | San Miguel Mountains | - | - | - | |
49 | Antora Peak | Sawatch Range | - | - | - | |
50 | Henry Mountain | Sawatch Range | - | - | - | |
51 | Lavender Peak | La Plata Mountains | - | - | - | |
52 | Jacque Peak | Gore Range | - | - | - | |
53 | Bennett Peak | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | |
54 | Conejos Peak | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | |
55 | Taos Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
56 | West Needle Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
57 | South River Peak | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - |
Most prominent summits
The following sortable table lists the three ultra prominent summits of the Southern Rocky MountainsRank | Mountain Peak | State | Mountain Range | Elevation | Prominence | Isolation |
1 | Sawatch Range | - | - | - | - | |
2 | Pikes Peak Massif | - | - | - | - | |
3 | Sierra Blanca Massif | - | - | - | - |
Most isolated summits
The following sortable table lists the 15 most topographically isolated peaks of the Southern Rocky Mountains with a topographic isolation of at least and a topographic prominence of at least.Rank | Mountain Peak | State | Mountain Range | Elevation | Prominence | Isolation |
1 | Sawatch Range | - | - | - | - | |
2 | Sierra Blanca Massif | - | - | - | - | |
3 | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
4 | La Sal Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
5 | Pikes Peak Massif | - | - | - | - | |
6 | Front Range | - | - | - | - | |
7 | Flat Tops | - | - | - | - | |
8 | Santa Fe Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
9 | Park Range | - | - | - | - | |
10 | Snowy Range | - | - | - | - | |
11 | San Juan Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
12 | Taos Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
13 | Culebra Range | - | - | - | - | |
14 | San Miguel Mountains | - | - | - | - | |
15 | Raton Mesa | - | - | - | - |
Easternmost summits
The following sortable table lists progressively the easternmost Rocky Mountain summits of their respective elevation.Rank | Mountain Peak | State | Mountain Range | Elevation | Prominence | Isolation | Location |
1 | Raton Mesa | 37.0982°N 104.4628°W | - | - | - | - | |
2 | Spanish Peaks | 37.3934°N 104.9201°W | - | - | - | - | |
3 | Spanish Peaks | 37.3756°N 104.9934°W | - | - | - | - | |
4 | Front Range | 38.8405°N 105.0442°W | - | - | - | - | |
5 | Sangre de Cristo Mountains | 37.5775°N 105.4856°W | - | - | - | - | |
6 | Sawatch Range | 38.9244°N 106.3207°W | - | - | - | - | |
7 | Sawatch Range | 39.1178°N 106.4454°W | - | - | - | - |
Mountain passes
The following sortable table lists the paved mountain passes and highway summits of the Southern Rocky Mountains.Rank | Mountain Pass | State | Elevation | Route |
1 | Mount Evans Scenic Byway | 14,160 feet 4316 m | ||
2 | Pikes Peak Highway | 14,115 feet 4302 m | ||
3 | Trail Ridge Road | 12,183 feet 3713 m | ||
4 | Independence Pass | 12,095 feet 3687 m | ||
5 | Loveland Pass | 11,992 feet 3655 m | ||
6 | Hoosier Pass | 11,541 feet 3518 m | ||
7 | Slumgullion Pass | 11,361 feet 3463 m | ||
8 | Fremont Pass | 11,318 feet 3450 m | ||
9 | Berthoud Pass | 11,315 feet 3449 m | ||
10 | Monarch Pass | 11,312 feet 3448 m | ||
11 | Eisenhower Tunnel | 11,158 feet 3401 m | ||
12 | Warrior Mountain Summit | 11,140 feet 3395 m | ||
13 | Juniper Pass | 11,040 feet 3365 m | ||
14 | Red Mountain Pass | 11,018 feet 3358 m | ||
15 | Molas Divide | 10,910 feet 3325 m | ||
16 | Spring Creek Pass | 10,901 feet 3323 m | ||
17 | Wolf Creek Pass | 10,850 feet 3307 m | ||
18 | Snowy Range Pass | 10,847 feet 3306 m | ||
19 | Grand Mesa Summit | 10,839 feet 3304 m | ||
20 | Milner Pass | 10,758 feet 3279 m | ||
21 | Vail Pass | 10,666 feet 3251 m | ||
22 | Coal Bank Pass | 10,640 feet 3243 m | ||
23 | Tennessee Pass | 10,424 feet 3177 m | ||
24 | Cameron Pass | 10,276 feet 3132 m | ||
25 | La Manga Pass | 10,230 feet 3118 m | ||
26 | Lizard Head Pass | 10,222 feet 3116 m | ||
27 | North Pass | 10,149 feet 3093 m | ||
28 | Cumbres Pass | 10,022 feet 3055 m | ||
29 | Kenosha Pass | 10,001 feet 3048 m | ||
30 | Red Hill Pass | 3046 m | 9,993 feet||
31 | Cucharas Pass | 3030 m | 9,941 feet||
32 | Battle Pass | 3022 m | 9,915 feet||
33 | Bobcat Pass | 2997 m | 9,833 feet||
34 | Willow Creek Pass | 2932 m | 9,621 feet||
35 | Gore Pass | 2904 m | 9,527 feet||
36 | Wilkerson Pass | 2898 m | 9,507 feet||
37 | Currant Creek Pass | 2890 m | 9,482 feet||
38 | Rabbit Ears Pass | 2873 m | 9,426 feet||
39 | North La Veta Pass | 2869 m | 9,413 feet||
40 | Trout Creek Pass | 2849 m | 9,346 feet||
41 | Battle Mountain Summit | 2825 m | 9,267 feet||
42 | Ute Pass | 2793 m | 9,165 feet||
43 | Wind River Pass | 2788 m | 9,148 feet||
44 | Black Mesa Summit | 2780 m | 9,121 feet||
45 | Palo Flechado Pass | 2776 m | 9,109 feet||
46 | Hardscrabble Pass | 2769 m | 9,085 feet||
47 | Poncha Pass | 2746 m | 9,010 feet||
48 | Dallas Divide | 2734 m | 8,970 feet||
49 | Muddy Pass | 2674 m | 8,772 feet||
50 | McClure Pass | 2669 m | 8,755 feet||
51 | Blue Mesa Summit | 2653 m | 8,704 feet||
52 | Wondervu Hill | 2640 m | 8,660 feet||
53 | Happy Jack Summit | 2633 m | 8,640 feet||
54 | U.S. Hill | 2610 m | 8,562 feet||
55 | Douglas Pass | 2520 m | 8,268 feet||
56 | Cerro Summit | 2423 m | 7,950 feet||
57 | Raton Pass | 2388 m | 7,834 feet||
58 | Yellowjacket Pass | 2372 m | 7,783 feet||
59 | Glorieta Pass | 2303 m | 7,557 feet||
60 | South Pass | 2301 m | 7,550 feet||
61 | Monument Hill | 2238 m | 7,343 feet||
62 | Morton Pass | 2186 m | 7,173 feet||
63 | Unaweep Divide | 2148 m | 7,048 feet||
64 | Separation Summit | 2135 m | 7,005 feet||
65 | Robinson Summit | 2111 m | 6,927 feet