Cochetopa Dome

Cochetopa Dome[5] is a mountain in the San Juan Mountains, in Saguache County, Colorado. The 11,138 ft (3,395 m) mountain is located in the Gunnison National Forest. With a prominence of 1,752 feet (534 m), Cochetopa Dome is the 110th most prominent summit in the state of Colorado.[1][2][3][6]

Cochetopa Dome
Photo of Cochetopa Dome
Cochetopa Dome viewed from the north.
Highest point
Elevation11,138 ft (3,395 m)[1][2]
Prominence1,752 ft (534 m)[1]
Isolation5.74 mi (9.24 km)[1]
Coordinates38°13′36″N 106°42′53″W[3]
Geography
Cochetopa Dome is located in Colorado
Cochetopa Dome
Cochetopa Dome
LocationSaguache County, Colorado, U.S.[3]
Parent rangeLa Garita Mountains[1]
Topo mapUSGS 7.5' topographic map
Cochetopa Park[3]

Geology
Labeled view of the Cochetopa caldera, including Cochetopa Dome.
Oblique view Cochetopa Dome and caldera, looking south, in 2020

Cochetopa Dome is a rhyolitic lava dome, extruded into the Cochetopa caldera approximately 27 million years ago. The Chochetopa caldera is one of over a dozen such collapsed volcanoes within the San Juan volcanic field. The caldera is approximately 20 mi (30 km) wide and vertical subsidence was up to 2,600 ft (800 m).[7]

The Cochetopa caldera, with Cochetopa Dome within it, is one of the most recognizable of the calderas in the region. Helping preserve the structure of this particular caldera is that its development was more recent than many of the larger calderas elsewhere in the San Juan Mountains, thus there was less regional volcanism to disrupt the caldera's structure. Also, the caldera was only modestly filled with post-subsidence sediments and much of this was weaker, tuffaceaus deposits, which have been more readily eroded from the caldera floor. And lastly, the caldera is drained through Cochetopa Canyon where hard, Precambrian igneous rock has limited down cutting and erosion of the caldera. The present vegetation helps make the caldera's features and extent even more apparent. The floor of the caldera is dominated by grass and shrublands while the caldera rim and the interior lava dome (Cochetopa Dome) are forested. This contrast in vegetation helps a visitor visualize the caldera[7][8]

Hiking

Private property to the north and west limits access to the mountain. The summit can be reached on public land from the southeast. From the Cochetopa Park Spur F Road (Forest Road 804.1F), at an open saddle at an elevation of (9,750 feet (2,972 m)), the summit is a 2-mile (3.2 km), class-2 hike through meadow and forest. The elevation gain is 1,400 feet (427 m).[6][9]

See also

References
  1. "Cochetopa Dome, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  2. The elevation of Cochetopa Dome includes an adjustment of +5.92 ft (+1.80 m) from NGVD 29 to NAVD 88.
  3. "Cochetopa Dome". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  4. Benson, Maxine (1994). 1001 Colorado Place Names. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-0632-7.
  5. Pronounced /koʊtʃɪˈtoʊpə/ ⓘ[4] or sometimes locally /koʊtʃɪˈtoʊp/ ⓘ.
  6. "Cochetopa Dome, CO". listofjohn.com. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. Lipman, Peter W (2012). Geologic map of the Cochetopa Park and North Pass Calderas, northeastern San Juan Mountains, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3123. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  8. Prather, Thomas (1999). Geology of the Gunnison Country (2nd ed.). Gunnison, Colorado: B&B Printers. LCCN 82-177244.
  9. Forest road information is available at Colorado Trail Explorer. Off-trail distances can also be computed. Accessed 8 April 2021
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