Sacred Places: Hesperus Peak, Montezuma County, Colorado

While European settlers tended to set boundaries with markers, fences or local landmarks such as boulders and creeks, Natives often looked to larger landmarks such as mountains to designated the land within their home and hunting ranges.  Hesperus Peak is the highest summit in the La Plata Range of the Rocky Mountains.  The mountain towers over 13,000 feet above sea level, making it a favorite peak to climb.  It's located in the San Juan National Forest near Mancos, Montezuma County, Colorado, which means that it's open to anyone who wants to try.  However, this mountain is also sacred to two Native tribes, both of whom claimed the La Plata Mountains as home.  The Utes and the Navajos were traditional enemies, in part because both claimed this beautiful country as their own.  To the Navajo, Hesperus Peak is the sacred northern boundary of their homeland, the Dinetah.  The mountain is known as Dibe Ntsaa and is said to contain deposits of jet stone.  It's associated with the color black.

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