Abajo Mountains

Abajo Mountains
Blue Mountains
Range
Abajo Mountains near Monticello
Country	United States
State	Utah
Part of	Rocky Mountains
Highest point	Abajo Peak
- elevation	11,360 ft (3,463 m)
- coordinates	37°50′34″N 109°27′46″W

The Abajo Mountains, also called the Blue Mountains, is 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 peak within the range is Abajo Peak at 11,360 feet (3,463 m).

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 the Colorado Plateau province and part of the Rocky Mountain system, west of the greater ranges of the Rocky Mountains.^{[citation needed]} The name "Abajo" comes from a Spanish word meaning "low".

Mountain ranges associated with laccoliths and other igneous intrusions on the Colorado Plateau, southwestern United States. The red dot marks the Four Corners, the intersection of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. L, La Sal Range; A, Abajo Mountains; S, (Sleeping) Ute Mountain; C, Carrizo Mountains; N, Navajo Mountain; H, Henry Mountains. Cropped, marked, and lower resolution from original image of NASA Visible Earth http://veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov//2883/4corners_2002160.jpg

References

• Jules D. Friedman and Curtis Huffman, Jr., coordinators (1998). "Laccolith Complexes of Southeastern Utah: Time of Emplacement and Tectonic Setting -- Workshop Proceedings". United States Geological Survey Bulletin 2158. http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2158/B2158.pdf.