Laramie Mountains

The Laramie Mountains are a range 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, 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 mountains consist of a series of Precambrian Sherman granite monadnocks rising above a broad erosion surface that form extensive unwooded parks whose surfaces are generally at about 7,000 feet (2,100 m) 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 8,000 feet (2,400 m) and 9,500 feet (2,900 m) above sea level, with the exceptions of Laramie Peak in Wyoming which tops out at 10,274 feet (3,132 m) and South Bald Mountain in Colorado rising to 11,007 feet (3,355 m). The granitic soils were formed from the erosion of the surrounding monadnocks and have an effective depth of less than 12 inches (30 cm).

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