Mount Sopris, a twin-summit peak in Colorado’s Elk Mountains, dominates the lower Roaring Fork Valley with two equal summits rising to 12,965 feet. Named for Richard Sopris, it also bears older names including the Ute Wemagooah Kazuhchich, “Ancient Mountain Heart Sits There.” Though sometimes mistaken for a volcano, the mountain likely formed about 30 million years ago as a deep igneous intrusion later exposed by erosion. Its steep local relief, cirques, and active rock glaciers make it especially striking. The strenuous but nontechnical Mount Sopris Trail has made the peak one of the Carbondale area’s defining mountain outings and an unofficial emblem of the valley.