| Never Summer Mountains |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT NEVER SUMMER MOUNTAINS | |
| rocky mountains | |
| mountain ranges of colorado | |
| jackson county, colorado | |
| grand county, colorado | |
| rocky mountain national park | |
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The Never Summer Mountains are a Mountain Range in the Rocky Mountains in north central Colorado in the United States . The range is located along the northwest border of Rocky Mountain National Park , forming the Continental Divide between the headwaters of the Colorado River in Rocky Mountainal Park to the east and the upper basin of the North Platte River ( North Park ) to the west. The range is small and tall, covering only twenty-five square miles with a north-south length of 10 miles while rising to over 12,000 ft at over ten distinct peaks. The range straddles the Jackson - Grand county line for most of its length, and stretches into Jackson and Larimer county at its northern end. A panoramic view of the range is available from sections of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. One of the northernmost peaks, Nokhu Crags , is prominently visible from the west side of Cameron Pass . The Never Summer Mountains are younger than surrounding mountain ranges. They were formed by volcanic processes 24-29 million years ago and consist mostly of igneous granitic formations along with preceding metamorphic formations. Today what remains are weathered fragments of much larger volcanoes. Beginning two-million years ago glaciers began carving the jagged peaks of the Never Summer Mountains. Successive waves of glaciation continued to reshape the mountains until the Pinedale Glaciation ended twelve-thousand years ago. The peaks are enourmous weathered masses of granitic rock heavily covered with green and orange lichens surrounded on all sides by large fields of talus shed from the original peaks. Many alpine lakes are nestled amounst the peaks. Most vegetation is low growing and stunted. Few trees grow and this altitude and Krummholz abounds. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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