Eldorado Mountain is a
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...
summit on the eastern flank of the
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered ...
of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
of
North America. The peak is located south by west (
bearing 196°) of downtown
Boulder,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
[ The mountain is largely in Boulder County but it straddles the border and its southern flanks are located in Jefferson County. Its name was probably borrowed from the nearby community of Eldorado Springs.
]
Ownership
On the Boulder County side, about half of the mountain is owned by the City of Boulder; other large parcels are owned by Boulder County, Eldorado Canyon State Park
Eldorado Canyon State Park is part of the Colorado State Park system. It was established in 1978 and is located in Boulder County near the city of Boulder. The park consists of two areas, the Inner Canyon (developed area) and Crescent Meadows (u ...
and the Bureau of Land Management. On the Jefferson County side, various parcels are owned by private parties.
Dimensions
The lowest part of the mountain is its northeast toe with an elevation of about —giving the mountain a total height of about . At its longest, the mountain measures about two miles (3 km) across on a south-east axis. The summit is owned by the City of Boulder. The City has a policy that restricts public access to this part of its holdings, and there is no trail going to the summit.
Near the top of the mountain is a large antenna field with two buildings overlooking the steep slope on the east. The radio station KBCO
KBCO (97.3 FM) is a radio station in Denver that is licensed to Boulder, Colorado. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) format.
Its studios are located alongside its sister stations in southeast Denver, while it ...
transmits from this site. The site is reached by a private dirt road that starts further south in Plainview (a small community with less than a dozen homes) and then climbs the steep southern flanks.
East side
On the east flank of Eldorado Mountain is its largest cliff, Mickey Mouse Wall. When viewed from the north, two buttresses at the top of the cliff look like a pair of mouse ears. But, from the east, Mickey Mouse looks just like one of the flatirons
The Flatirons are rock formations in the western United States, near Boulder, Colorado, consisting of flatirons. There are five large, numbered Flatirons ranging from north to south (First through Fifth, respectively) along the east slope of ...
. The only trail on this side of the mountain is a climber's trail accessing Mickey Mouse Wall. (As of September 2007, the City of Boulder was planning to re-align this trail.) Also on the east flank are the remains of the Conda Quarry, covering about . The quarry operated from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1992, in order to preserve the land as open space, the City of Boulder purchased the quarry along with the underlying land and mining rights. Later, the City undertook a reclamation project on the site, although the quarry is still visible. Down from the quarry on the access road is the Eldorado Mountain Yoga Ashram.
South side
To the immediate south of the mountain is Bull Gulch, which becomes the Doudy Draw, first heading eastward but then turning northward and joining South Boulder Creek.
West side
From the saddle between Eldorado Mountain and Crescent Mountain an abandoned road descends to the railroad tracks. To the west of the mountain is South Draw, a small basin that drains into South Boulder Creek.
North side
To the north of the mountain is South Boulder Creek, a large creek that starts near the Continental Divide, passes through Gross Reservoir
Gross Reservoir, located in Boulder County, Colorado, is owned and operated by Denver Water. Completed in 1954, the reservoir has a surface area of 440 acres, and the spillway sits at 7,225 feet elevation.
The reservoir receives water from the we ...
and later joins Boulder Creek about six miles (10 km) downstream. Located along this creek is Eldorado Canyon State Park. Within the Park is the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail that climbs about halfway up the north flank of Eldorado Mountain. Near the top of this trail is the site of the former Crags Hotel, which was in business from 1908 until 1913 when it burned down. The Park has converted the hotel ruins into a historic site for visitors. When it was operating, the hotel also ran a funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite e ...
that went down from the hotel to the creek. Still on the north side are three thin cliffs bands lined in a single column—Continental Crag, Upper Peanuts Wall, and Lower Peanuts Wall—from top to bottom. At the very base of the flank is the famous tower-like Bastille. Further down the creek is the unincorporated community of Eldorado Springs.
Railroads and aqueducts
On the northern flanks of the mountain are four different lines: two railroad grades and two aqueducts. The top-most line (located at about the level) is a railroad line owned and operated by Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
. It circles three quarters of the mountain, passing through a dozen tunnels along the way. Construction began in 1902 and was known at the time as Moffat Road. About twenty miles (32 km) to the west, this line continues through the Moffat Tunnel
The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel's first official railroad traffic passed through in February 192 ...
under the Continental Divide. Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
’s California Zephyr
The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...
runs along this line every day, once each way.
Another line (located at about the level) is the aqueduct known as the South Boulder Diversion. It leads to Ralston Reservoir, supplying water to Denver and some of its surrounding suburbs. It was built in 1937 and is owned by Denver Water, a governmental agency whose commissioners are appointed by the mayor of Denver.[Article X of the Charter of the City and County of Denver] Near Eldorado Mountain, the aqueduct is mostly hidden in tunnels, but in three short sections it emerges above ground as a large pipeline. Further east, it becomes a canal.
A third line (located at about the level) is another railroad grade. Known as the Denver Utah & Pacific, it was originally graded in the 1880s. No tracks were ever laid, and for that reason historians refer to it as a “ghost” railroad. After being abandoned by the railroad, the grade was used by the public as an access route to the west side of the canyon. The grade continued to be the only such access until 1927 when the present road at the bottom of the canyon was built. In 1978, part of the grade became part of the newly created Eldorado Canyon State Park and was later converted into the Fowler Trail.
The bottom line is the Community Ditch (located at about the level). It begins at a diversion dam located at the northeast toe of Eldorado Mountain (also being the location of the entrance to Eldorado Canyon State Park.) The ditch drains into Marshall Lake three miles (5 km) to the east. It was built around 1908 and is owned by Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company.
Gallery
Image:NE Toe Eldorado Mtn.jpg, Northeast toe, lowest point
Image:NNE Eldorado Mtn.jpg, NNE view
Image:Conda Quarry Eldorado Mtn.jpg, The Conda Quarry
Image:ENE Eldorado Mtn.jpg, ENE view
Image:Mouse Ears Eldorado Mtn.jpg, The Mouse Ears
Image:Antenna Field Eldorado Mtn.jpg, Antenna field near the top
Image:Union Pacific Eldorado Mtn.jpg, Union Pacific train, with Mickey Mouse Wall
Image:Bull Gulch Eldorado Mtn.JPG, Bull Gulch
Image:SE Eldorado Mtn.jpg, SE view
Image:SSE Eldorado Mountain.jpg, SSE view
Image:SW Eldorado Mtn.jpg, SW view
Image:WSW Eldorado Mtn.jpg, WSW view
Image:NW Eldorado Mtn.jpg, NW view
Image:NNW Eldorado Mtn.jpg, NNW view
Image:South Draw Eldorado Mtn.jpg, South Draw
Image:Rattlesnake Gulch Eldorado Mtn.jpg, Rattlesnake Gulch
Image:Peanuts and Continental Eldorado Mtn.jpg, Continental and Peanuts
Image:The Bastille Eldorado.JPG, The Bastille
Image:Topo Eldorado Mtn.jpg, Portion of USGS Topo Map
See also
* List of Colorado mountain ranges
* List of Colorado mountain summits
**List of Colorado fourteeners
This is a list of mountain peaks in the U.S. State of Colorado that exceed of elevation.
In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a ''fourteener'' is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet. This is a co ...
** List of Colorado 4000 meter prominent summits
**List of the most prominent summits of Colorado
The following sortable table comprises the 100 most topographically prominent mountain peaks of the U.S. State of Colorado.
Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea le ...
*List of Colorado county high points
This is a list of all 64 counties of the U.S. State of Colorado by their points of highest elevation. Of the 50 highest county high points in the United States, 30 are located in Colorado. The highest point in Colorado is the summit of Mount ...
Footnotes
References
* Topographical Map USGS Eldorado Springs
* Sampson, J., High, Wild and Handsome (2000)
* Rossiter, R. Rock Climbing Eldorado Canyon (2000)
External links
People for Eldorado Mountain
An advocacy group, conservation-oriented.
City of Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks
Department with responsibility for city lands on Eldorado Mountain.
Denver Water
Eldorado Mountain Yoga Ashram
Mountain Project
Climbing website. Look under Colorado--> Boulder--> Eldorado Mountain and Eldorado Canyon SP.
for old photos. Search "Crags Hotel"; "Eldorado Community" for Community Ditch.
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Mountains of Colorado
Mountains of Boulder County, Colorado
Mountains of Jefferson County, Colorado
Protected areas of Boulder County, Colorado
Protected areas of Jefferson County, Colorado
Bureau of Land Management areas in Colorado
North American 2000 m summits