Hesperus Mountain (Colorado)
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| Hesperus Mountain | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 13,232 feet (4,033 m) |
| Location | Colorado, United States |
| Range | San Juan Mountains, Rocky Mountains |
| Prominence | 2,852 ft (869 m)[1][2][3] |
| Coordinates | |
| First ascent | unrecorded (probably indigenous) |
| Easiest route | scramble |
Hesperus Mountain or Hesperus Peak is a peak in the La Plata Mountains, a small subrange of the San Juan Mountains, which in turn are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, United States. Though not of particularly high elevation for the region, it is visually quite prominent, as it is near the southern edge of the San Juans.
Hesperus is notable as the Diné (Navajo) Peoples' Sacred Mountain of the North, Dibé Ntsaa or Dibentsaa, which marks the northern boundary of the Dinetah, their traditional homeland. It is associated with the color black, and is said to be impregnated with jet. When First Man created the mountain as a replica of mountains in the Fourth World, he fastened it to the ground with a rainbow and covered it in darkness.[4]
If Hesperus is, as has traditionally been understood, the high point of the La Plata Mountains, then it has a high topographic prominence. However this is disputed, with the crown possibly going to nearby Lavender Mountain, about 0.4 mi (0.64 km) to the southeast.[5] If Lavender Peak is slightly higher than Hesperus, then the prominence of Hesperus would only be about 410 ft (120 m).[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Colorado high-prominence peaks on peaklist.org
- ^ Colorado high-prominence peaks on listsofjohn.com
- ^ See the text of the article for a note about the possibility that nearby Lavender Peak is higher.
- ^ Robert S. McPherson, Sacred Land, Sacred View: Navajo perceptions of the Four Corners Region, Brigham Young University, ISBN 1-56085-008-6.
- ^ Lavender Peak on peakbagger.com (A detailed account of an unofficial re-evaluation of Hesperus)
- ^ Hesperus Mountain on Topozone
