The Abajo Mountains , sometimes referred to as the Blue Mountains , are a small mountain range west of Monticello, Utah , south of Canyonlands National Park and north of Blanding, Utah . The mountain range is located within the Manti–La Sal National Forest . The highest point within the range is Abajo Peak at 11,360 feet (3,463 m).
6-661: This mountain range, like both the La Sal Range and Henry Mountains in the same part of the Colorado Plateau , is formed about igneous intrusions that are relatively resistant to erosion. Some of these intrusions form laccoliths emplaced at depths of a few kilometers. The predominant igneous rock is porphyritic hornblende diorite . Ages of intrusion in the Abajo Mountains fall in the interval from 22 to 29 million years. These mountain ranges are part of
12-717: A distance of about 10 miles (16 km). The name of the range dates to Spanish times, when the Sierra La Sal (meaning the "Salt Mountains") was a prominent landmark on the Old Spanish Trail between Santa Fe and Los Angeles. The range formed due to intrusion of igneous rocks and subsequent erosion of the surrounding less-resistant sedimentary rocks. The most abundant igneous rocks are porphyritic , with phenocrysts of hornblende and plagioclase : these rocks are called diorite in some accounts, but trachyte in at least one other source. Syenite , some containing
18-609: Is a mountain range located in Grand and San Juan counties in the U.S. state of Utah , along the border with Colorado . The range rises above and southeast of Moab and north of the town of La Sal . This range is part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest and the southern Rocky Mountains . The maximum elevation is at Mount Peale , reaching 12,721 feet (3,877 m) above sea level. The range contains three clusters of peaks separated by passes. The peaks span
24-639: The Abajo Mountains and the Henry Mountains , formed around igneous intrusions of about the same age. Yet other nearby ranges, such as the Carrizo Mountains and Ute Mountain , formed about otherwise similar intrusions emplaced about 70 million years ago. The formation of these igneous rocks in two distinct time intervals has attracted the interest of scientists seeking explanations for magma production below relatively stable parts of
30-595: The Colorado Plateau province west of the greater ranges of the Rocky Mountains . The laccolith ranges are much younger and have a very different geologic origin. The range was reputedly named by the Spanish in the 1700s, the name "Abajo" meaning "low". This article about a location in Utah is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . La Sal Range The La Sal Mountains or La Sal Range
36-461: The unusual mineral nosean , makes up a few percent of the igneous rocks present. Some igneous intrusions have the shapes of laccoliths . The ages of these igneous rocks fall between 25 and 28 million years. The magmas were emplaced into sedimentary rocks with ages from Permian to Cretaceous . The La Sal Mountains rise high over the surrounding Colorado Plateau . Two other ranges on the Plateau,
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