Cochetopa Hills
Encyclopedia
The Cochetopa Hills are a ridge of uplands on the Continental Divide
in southern Colorado
. The ridge bridges the southern terminus of the Sawatch Range
to the northern terminus of the La Garita Mountains
. The Cochetopa Hills are characterized by rolling terrain with peaks between 11,000 and 12,000 feet and noteworthy volcanic geology. The Sawatch Range to the northeast and the La Garita Mountains to the south are characterized by higher peaks. On USGS topographic maps, the area labeled as the Cochetopa Hills is roughly bounded by 13,269 ft. Antora Peak, the town of Sargents, Colorado
, the drainage of Cochetopa Creek, and the town of Saguache, Colorado
. North Pass on Colorado State Highway 114
and the backcountry Cochetopa Pass allow passage from the upper Rio Grande River drainage on the east to the upper Gunnison River
drainage to the west.
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
in southern Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. The ridge bridges the southern terminus of the Sawatch Range
Sawatch Range
The Sawatch Range is a mountain range in central Colorado which includes eight of the twenty highest peaks in the Rocky Mountains, including Mount Elbert, at elevation, the highest peak in the Rockies....
to the northern terminus of the La Garita Mountains
La Garita Mountains
During the Oligocene epoch, a series of caldera building eruptions of titanic proportions, some as large as VEI-8, devastated what is now Colorado and raised up the mountain chain, part of the San Juan Mountains. The La Garita supervolcano's mega-colossal eruption created 5000 km3 of tephra,...
. The Cochetopa Hills are characterized by rolling terrain with peaks between 11,000 and 12,000 feet and noteworthy volcanic geology. The Sawatch Range to the northeast and the La Garita Mountains to the south are characterized by higher peaks. On USGS topographic maps, the area labeled as the Cochetopa Hills is roughly bounded by 13,269 ft. Antora Peak, the town of Sargents, Colorado
Sargents, Colorado
Sargents is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office located in Saguache County, Colorado, United States. The Sargents Post Office has the ZIP Code 81248.-See also:* List of cities and towns in Colorado* Saguache County, Colorado* State of Colorado...
, the drainage of Cochetopa Creek, and the town of Saguache, Colorado
Saguache, Colorado
The historic town of Saguache is a Statutory Town that is the county seat and most populous town of Saguache County, Colorado, United States. The population was 578 at the U.S. Census 2000.-Name:...
. North Pass on Colorado State Highway 114
Colorado State Highway 114
State Highway 114 is a long state highway in southern central Colorado.-Route description:SH 114 begins in the west at its junction with U.S. Highway 50 approximately eight miles east of Gunnison...
and the backcountry Cochetopa Pass allow passage from the upper Rio Grande River drainage on the east to the upper Gunnison River
Gunnison River
The Gunnison River is a tributary of the Colorado River, long, in the Southwest state of Colorado. It is the fifth largest tributary of the Colorado River, with a mean flow of 4320 ft³/s .-Description:...
drainage to the west.