La Plata Peak
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La Plata Peak rises to 4,372 m in Colorado. Mount Elbert stands 4,401 m to the north-northeast, 6.3 miles off. The nearest named place is Mount Blaurock, a peak 1.6 miles away. Top of the Rockies passes 6.5 miles off.
The story
La Plata Peak is the fifth-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent 14,343-foot (4,372 m) fourteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 22.7 miles (36.5 km) northwest by west (bearing 308°) of the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. "La Plata" is Spanish for "The Silver", a reference to the many silver deposits in the area. The nearby ghost towns of Winfield and Hamilton were prominent silver mining towns in the early part of the 20th century. A Hayden Survey team first climbed the peak on July 26, 1873. The elevation of 14,361 feet marked on the USGS Mount Elbert Quadrangle is incorrect, and should read 14,336 feet (in the NGVD 29 vertical datum).
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q656608, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 4372 m
How to reach it
- 6.5 mi off the Top of the Rockies, National
- 10.7 mi off the Collegiate Peaks
Overlooks nearby
- Crystal Lake Overlook · 13 mi
- Waterfall Overlook · 26 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Mount Blaurock: 1.6 mi
- Rinker Peak: 1.9 mi
- Ervin Peak: 2.6 mi
- Twin Peaks: 2.8 mi
- Mount Hope: 2.9 mi
- Leadville National Fish Hatchery: 13.3 mi
- Bob Zaitz Park: 18.0 mi
- Ice Palace Park: 18.1 mi
- Ute Childrens Park: 21.0 mi
- Snyder Park: 21.0 mi
- Temple Israel: 17.8 mi
- Tabor Home Museum: 18.0 mi
- National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum: 18.1 mi
- The Leadville Heritage Museum: 18.1 mi
- Healy House Museum & Dexter Cabin: 18.2 mi
- Columbine Mine: 6.1 mi
- Interlaken: 7.5 mi
- Oliver's Cabin: 14.9 mi
- Ashcroft Ghost Town: 17.6 mi
- Colorado & Southern 2-8-0 641: 18.3 mi
- Winfield: 3.5 mi
- Vicksburg: 5.6 mi
- Independence: 8.9 mi
- Ashcroft: 17.5 mi
- Oro City: 18.5 mi
- Pieplant Mill: 7.8 mi
- Stringtown Smelters: 17.1 mi
- The Boulevard to Soda Springs and Evergreen Lakes: 17.2 mi
- Dog Memorial: 17.8 mi
- Irish Immigrant Miners' Memorial: 17.9 mi
- Lower Grotto Wall: 13.7 mi
- Lower Buttressess: 23.7 mi
- East Face: 23.7 mi
- Aspen Center for Environmental Studies: 21.9 mi
- Marolt Open Space: 22.5 mi
- Moore Open Space: 23.0 mi
- Mount Elbert Picnic Area: 8.3 mi
- Emerald Lake: 9.3 mi
- White Water Spring: 18.8 mi
- Hot Spring: 23.3 mi
- Ryks Waterfall: 12.1 mi
- Cloud City Farm & Community Garden: 17.4 mi
- Chromatic Gate: 22.3 mi
- Conundrum Hot Springs: 22.5 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 15.4 miles of La Plata Peak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Elbert | NNE 14° | 4,401.2 m | 6.3 mi |
| Mount Massive | N 359° | 4,398 m | 10.9 mi |
| Mount Harvard | SE 132° | 4,395.6 m | 10.9 mi |
| Mount Belford | SE 128° | 4,329.1 m | 7.7 mi |
| Mount Yale | SE 146° | 4,328 m | 15.4 mi |
| Mount Oxford | ESE 122° | 4,315.9 m | 8.5 mi |
| Missouri Mountain | SE 138° | 4,289.8 m | 7.6 mi |
| Mount Columbia | SE 133° | 4,285 m | 12.8 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:10 | 18:43 | 19:18 |
| June solstice | 05:41 | 19:56 | 20:36 |
| September equinox | 06:54 | 18:29 | 19:05 |
| December solstice | 07:22 | 16:05 | 16:47 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Aug.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 19 | 20 | 27 | 34 | 44 | 53 | 59 | 57 | 50 | 40 | 30 | 21 |
| Precip in | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Twin Lakes Rsvr, 8 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 180393 — La Plata Peak, Chaffee County, Colorado.
OpenStreetMap element node/358915486
Day trips start here
- Aspen · 22 mi
Take the scenic way to La Plata Peak.
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