Needle Rock Natural Area is located at the western edge of the West Elk Mountains of Colorado. The surrounding terrain is characterized by laccolithic mountains flanked by precipitous cliffs, extensive talus aprons, forested mesas, canyons, and spacious, well-watered intermontane basins. Needle Rock is an intrusive plug of monzonite porphyryNoe, D. C., and Alexander T. Klink. “OF-15-06 Geologic Map of the Crawford Quadrangle, Delta and Montrose Counties, Colorado.” Geologic, 1:24,000. Open File Report. Golden, CO: Colorado Geological Survey, 2015. cropping out east-northeast (bearing 68°) of the Town of Crawford in Delta County, Colorado, United States. With an elevation of ,The elevation of Needle Rock includes an adjustment of +1.473 m (+4.83 ft) from NGVD 29 to NAVD 88. the towering rock spire stands tall above the floor of the Smith Fork of the Gunnison River valley. The massive rock feature originated in the Oligocene geological epoch when magma intruded between existing sedimentary rocks as the crown of a buried laccolith or possibly the underlying conduit of a laccolith. Subsequent erosion has exposed the prominent rock formation seen in the natural area today.
The Needle Rock Natural Area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.BLM Needle Rock Natural Area Webpage
See also
West Elk Mountains List of Colorado mountain ranges List of Colorado mountain summits List of Colorado fourteeners List of Colorado 4000 meter prominent summits List of the most prominent summits of Colorado List of Colorado county high points
References
External links Needle Rock Article - summitpost.org