Blanca Peak
More photographs at the Wikimedia Commons category.
Blanca Peak rises to 4,374 m in Colorado. Ellingwood Point stands 4,282 m to the northwest, 0.5 miles off. Scenic Highway of Legends passes 25 miles off. 95 named places lie within 25 miles, 50 of them named summits.
The story
Blanca Peak (Navajo: Sis Naajinį́ meaning "black belted mountain"; Ute: Peeroradarath; Tewa: Pintsae'i'i) is the fourth highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The ultra-prominent 14,351-foot (4,374 m) peak is the highest summit of the Sierra Blanca Massif, the Sangre de Cristo Range, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The fourteener is located 9.6 miles (15.5 km) north by east (bearing 9°) of the Town of Blanca, on the drainage divide separating Rio Grande National Forest and Alamosa County from the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant and Costilla County. The summit is the highest point of both counties and the entire drainage basin of the Rio Grande. Below the steep North Face of Blanca Peak two live Glaciers once developed, until extinction sometime after 1903. North & South Blanca Glaciers were located at 37° 35N., longitude 105° 28W. Blanca Peak is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude. The Blanca Peak Tripoint of Alamosa, Costilla, and Huerfano counties is located on the same drainage divide approximately 251 feet (77 m) northeast by north (bearing 30°) of the Blanca Peak summit at the boundary of the San Isabel National Forest. The Blanca Peak Tripoint is the highest point in Huerfano County.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q670233, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 4374 m
How to reach it
- 25.0 mi off the Scenic Highway of Legends, National
Overlooks nearby
95 named places within 25 miles
- Ellingwood Point: 0.5 mi
- Little Bear Peak: 1.0 mi
- Hamilton Peak: 1.5 mi
- Iron Nipple: 2.0 mi
- Twin Peaks: 2.0 mi
- Blanca Park: 9.8 mi
- Fort Garland Park: 10.7 mi
- Veteran's Park: 11.2 mi
- San Luis Lake SWA: 15.8 mi
- Sunrise Park: 21.2 mi
- Denton Spring: 8.7 mi
- Mosca Spring: 10.9 mi
- Trover Spring: 23.5 mi
- Patton Spring: 23.7 mi
- Bailey Spring: 23.8 mi
- Japanese Memorial Garden: 22.8 mi
- Hooper Town Park: 24.4 mi
- Welcome to Hooper: 24.4 mi
- Veterans Memorial: 24.7 mi
- Welcome to Hooper: 24.8 mi
- Rock dedicated to L.B. "Bill" Casselman: 8.6 mi
- Grand Sand Dunes Sign: 8.8 mi
- Denver and Rio Grande Western Number 169: 21.9 mi
- Colorado Gators Reptile Park: 22.8 mi
- Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center: 11.0 mi
- San Luis Valley Museum: 22.0 mi
- Great Sand Dunes National Park: 16.5 mi
- Rio Grande Healthy Living Park: 21.6 mi
- Windy Point: 16.9 mi
- Hansen Bluff: 18.6 mi
- Zapata Falls: 4.7 mi
- Duncan: 21.7 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Blanca Peak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellingwood Point | NW 313° | 4,282 m | 0.5 mi |
| Mount Lindsey | E 79° | 4,282 m | 2.3 mi |
| Little Bear Peak | SW 221° | 4,280 m | 1.0 mi |
| California Peak | NNW 344° | 4,221 m | 2.6 mi |
| Hamilton Peak | SSE 156° | 4,154 m | 1.5 mi |
| Tijeras Peak | N 353° | 4,149 m | 24.2 mi |
| Tiseras Peak | N 353° | 4,140 m | 24.1 mi |
| Twin Peaks | WNW 295° | 4,132 m | 2.0 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:06 | 18:40 | 19:14 |
| June solstice | 05:42 | 19:48 | 20:27 |
| September equinox | 06:50 | 18:26 | 19:01 |
| December solstice | 07:14 | 16:07 | 16:48 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 20 | 26 | 36 | 43 | 52 | 61 | 66 | 64 | 57 | 45 | 32 | 21 |
| Precip in | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Blanca 4 NW, 8 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 192735 — Blanca Peak, Costilla County, Colorado.
OpenStreetMap element node/358928225
Day trips start here
- Great Sand Dunes National Park · 11 mi
Take the scenic way to Blanca Peak.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.