The Laramie Mountains are a

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

of moderately high peaks on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S states of Wyoming and Colorado. The range is the northernmost extension of the line of the ranges along the eastern side of the Rockies, and in particular of the higher peaks of the Front Range directly to the south. North of the range, the gap between the Laramie range and the Bighorn Mountains provided the route for historical trails, such as the Oregon Trail, the

Mormon Trail The Mormon Trail is the long route from Illinois to Utah that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled for 3 months. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon ...

, and the Pony Express. The Laramie Mountains begin in northern Colorado and extend discontinuously into southeastern Wyoming between Cheyenne and Laramie and northward to Casper. (By some definitions the Laramies are only in Wyoming.) They are named after the Laramie River, which cuts through the range from southwest to northeast and joins the North Platte River east of the range in eastern Wyoming. The mountains in turn give their name to the Laramide orogeny, the uplift of the North American Plate approximately 70 million years ago that created the present Rocky Mountains. The highest portions of the Laramie mountains are mostly in public ownership, forming part of the Medicine Bow-Routt and Roosevelt National Forests.

Geology

The mountains consist of a series of

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

Sherman granite

monadnock An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

s rising above a broad erosion surface that form extensive unwooded parks whose surfaces are generally at about above sea level. The high peaks of the range, which are much lower than those commonly associated with the Rocky Mountains, rise abruptly above the surrounding peneplain to altitudes between and above sea level, with the exceptions of

Laramie Peak Laramie Peak Is the highest and most prominent peak in the Laramie Range of Wyoming. With a peak elevation of , it is the only peak in the Laramie Range to exceed an elevation of . It can be seen from great distances from both sides of the Laramie ...

in Wyoming which tops out at and South Bald Mountain in Colorado rising to . The granitic soils were formed from the erosion of the surrounding monadnocks and have an effective depth of less than . Three principal

life zone The life zone concept was developed by C. Hart Merriam in 1889 as a means of describing areas with similar plant and animal communities. Merriam observed that the changes in these communities with an increase in latitude at a constant elevation ar ...

s are represented in the Laramies: Upper Sonoran, Transition and Canadian.Carpenter, J. R. 1956. An Ecological Glossary. Hafner, NY. Some early sources indicated that the Hudsonian Zone occurs on Laramie Peak but there is nothing distinctive about either the flora or fauna on the top of this peak, for it consists of nothing but a large granite outcrop. On the eastern and north eastern slopes of the range the prairie/mountain transition is very gentle at the south end (between Cheyenne and Laramie) and much more abrupt and broken farther north. The elevation is lowest, about (1370 m), along the North Platte River. On the western slopes the total relief is much less, as the floors of the three

intermontane Intermontane is a physiographic adjective formed from the prefix " inter-" (''signifying among, between, amid, during, within, mutual, reciprocal'') and the adjective "montane" (inhabiting, or growing in mountainous regions, especially cool, moi ...

basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), a ...

that border the Laramies on this side (Shirley, Hanna and Laramie basins) rarely drop below . An extensive high plain and semi-desert extends from the Laramie Mountains south west as far as the Shirley Mountains. The Laramie Basin separates the Laramie Mountains from the

Medicine Bow Mountains The Medicine Bow Mountains are a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains that extend from northern Colorado into southern Wyoming. The northern extent of this range is the sub-range the Snowy Range. From the northern end of Colorado's Never Summer ...

to the south and west, and its floor is above except for a few depressions and

blowout Blowout or Blow out may refer to: Film and television *''Blow Out'', a 1981 film by Brian De Palma * ''The Blow Out'', a 1936 short film * ''Blow Out'' (TV series), a TV series on Bravo * "Blow Out" (''Prison Break''), an episode of ''Prison ...

s (such as Cooper Lake). The Laramie Mountains are bisected by the Laramie River, which cuts a canyon through the mountains roughly due west of Wheatland, and then continues its generally eastward course to join the North Platte River near the town of Fort Laramie. The division marks the southern end of the continuous coniferous forest in the range, and separates the range into two parts. The southern part is generally drier and much more open, with little or no forest except for the southern end at Pole Mountain and surrounding area, where the interesting granite outcrops at

Vedauwoo Vedauwoo () is an area of rocky outcrops (Sherman Granite) located in southeastern Wyoming, United States, north of Interstate 80, between Laramie and Cheyenne. Its name, according to some, is a romanized version of the Arapaho word "bito'o'w ...

provide climbing practice and grand picnic scenery. The range is prominently visible from

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

between Casper and Cheyenne.

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

and the Union Pacific Railroad cross the range between Cheyenne and Laramie on an outlying ramp of the High Plains called the "Gangplank".

References

External links

* {{Coord, 41, 38, N, 105, 40, W, display=title Mountain ranges of Colorado Mountain ranges of Wyoming Ranges of the Rocky Mountains North American Cordillera Landforms of Laramie County, Wyoming Landforms of Albany County, Wyoming Landforms of Natrona County, Wyoming Landforms of Larimer County, Colorado

Geology

See also

References

Further reading

External links