Huerfano County, Colorado
The Cuchara River Valley

The Spanish Peaks are to the right. Mt. Mestas, Silver Mountain, etc. are to the middle left. Greenhorn Mountain is to the upper left. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are to the lower left.

This photo was taken from above Raspberry Mountain, looking northeast. The feature going from lower right to center is the main slab of Dakota Wall sandstone. As you scan across the photo from right to left, you can see the upturned edges of similar sandstone slabs that indicate formations that are below the Dakota Formation (and geologically older). In the upper center of the photo is Goemmer Butte, with the town of La Veta just above that. The road along the right-middle of the photo is Colorado State Highway 12.

This view gives you an idea of how the molten rock originally flowed and how the brittle layers of rock broke in the cataclysms surrounding the formation of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Spanish Peaks.