Greenhorn Mountain is the highest summit of the Wet Mountains range in the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 12352 ft peak is located in the Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 8.4 km southwest by west (bearing 238°) of the Town of Rye, Colorado, United States, on the boundary between Huerfano and Pueblo counties. The summit of Greenhorn Mountain is the highest point in Pueblo County, Colorado. The peak's summit rises above timberline, which is about 11500 ft in south-central Colorado.

Geography

The massive Greenhorn Mountain can be seen from Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Trinidad, and also from along Interstate 25 rising over 6000 ft above the great plains to the east. The mountain's habitats are protected within the secluded Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness Area, which is only accessed by a few trails and a 4-wheel drive road on its north.

Climate

Greenhorn Mountain has a subalpine climate (Köppen Dfc) bordering on an Alpine climate (ET).

Name origin

The original name for the mountain peak was Cuerno Verde. The name comes from Cuerno Verde (Green Horn) given by the colonial Spanish of the Provincias Internas to two, father and son, Jupe Comanche band mahimiana paraibo or war chiefs. The younger Cuerno Verde was known to the Comanches as "Man Who Holds Danger." On September 3, 1779, younger Cuerno Verde, his son, medicine man, four principal chiefs, and ten of his warriors, were killed near Greenhorn Mountain by the men of the expedition of Spanish troops and native American allies (Apache, Ute, and Pueblo) under Juan Bautista de Anza. On April 4, 1906, the United States Board on Geographic Names decided to use the English translation, Greenhorn, for the name it carries today.

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