Wheeler Geological Area

Thirty million years ago Creede was a hot spot. There were several volcanoes in the area and the area was covered with hot ash, about 1500 degrees hot. Lava and ash covered the entire area. After the eruptions ceased the empty magma chamber collapsed under the weight of the crust above forming the 10 mile wide Creede Caldera. There were other major calderas formed in the area, Bachelor, San Luis, all part of the much larger La Garita Calder. The La Garita Caldera is about 1000 square miles, one of the largest in the world. These calderas and adjacent areas formed the San Juan Volcanic Field. Eruptions of these volcanoes would have dwarfed the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980. Approximately one million years ago arctic glaciers moved into the Northern United States. New glaciers were formed as the snow fell faster than it melted. Between the volcanic activity, glaciation and subsequent erosion, the area around Creede was shaped to look like it does today. Today we set out to see one of the wonders created by these forces, The Wheeler Geological Area.

We had a 5 mile drive on pavement before we turned onto a good gravel Forest Service Road. The next 10 miles was pretty smooth until we turned onto a more remote road that consisted of 14 miles of rocks, ruts, mud puddles, tree roots and stream crossings. Needless to say we had a rough ride. Our little Jeep was up to the job, however, and we made it in and back safely. The road terminated at a trail at the boundary of the Wheeler Geological Area. The trail was only about .6 miles long but it was rough, steep, slow and about 11,000 feet above sea level. The hike was worth the effort though as we got to see the wondrous formations.

Wheeler Geologic Area is a landscape that was created from volcanic tuff created from ash and larger blocks of volcanic material blown into the atmosphere by eruptions of the La Garita Volcanos. This material was compacted but not cemented together so it readily erodes. The result is reminiscent of the Badlands, an impassable area of peaks and steep slopes.

The area was named in honor of Capt. George Wheeler who was in charge of the War Department exploration and surveying done in this part of Colorado in 1874. Teddy Roosevelt named it a National Monument in 1908 and it passed back and forth between the Forest Service and The National Park system until finally it was made part of the La Garita Wilderness Area 1n 1993.

Tomorrow is our last day of scheduled Jeep runs. We will have a rest from the rough roads but maybe next week we will make some trips alone now that we have some experience. We will relax here for another week before we resume our travels.