Laughlin Peak, Red Mountain and Pine Butte West

Sunset view of Laughlin Peak (8816 feet), Red Mountain (7270 feet), and Pine Butte West (8435 feet) near Raton, NM. The sun is setting behind the photographer. While conventional wisdom awards the distinction of highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains to Harney Peak in the Black Hills (7242 feet), a strong case can be made that 8816 foot Laughlin Peak is the actual high point. It is, in fact, part of the Clayton-Raton Volcanic Field, which includes the more well-known Capulin Volcano (more well-known because it is a national monument). These volcanoes were not formed by the same geological processes or during the same geological time periods that formed the Rocky Mountains, so should not be considered as part of them. The Rockies are generally considered to have formed 65-100 million years age, while the volcanoes of the Clayton-Raton Volcanic Field formed in the tens of thousand of years ago (read more here). Accepting that, one should also then accept that Laughlin Peak is the highest peak in the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains. Imaged in August 2011.