Lizard Head

Lizard Head is a 13,119-foot summit in southwestern Colorado’s San Miguel Mountains, on the divide between San Juan and Uncompahgre National Forests near Ophir. Though not one of Colorado’s highest peaks, its narrow, spire-like form has made it one of the state’s most recognizable landmarks, even appearing in a Rio Grande Southern Railroad logo. Formed from Oligocene volcanic ash flows over older sedimentary rock, it is also infamous as one of Colorado’s hardest climbs because of its unstable, crumbling surface. In 1911, a landslide removed part of the summit, altering its shape but not its striking presence in the region.

Ophir, Colorado · United States