Can you see the Rockies from DIA?

[hawg64]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

The Rockies may be much higher than LA's mountains but keep in mind that in LA, you're looking up at them from sea level and in Denver you're already 5-6000' up.

Yes L.A. is at only 320 feet or so above sea level, meaning the mountains rise from a much lower level and are very prominent, but the "mountains" there are only 5,000-8,000 feet at the most above sea level. Mt. Evans, Longs Peak, Pikes Peak, and the spanish peaks, of which the first three are over 14,000 feet above sea level, range from 3,000 to 7,000 feet Above Ground Level. So the Rockies are still equally tall and prominent, even though Denver is already at 5,000 feet. You have to keep in mind that the Rockies even though begining at 5,000 feet Above Sea Level at their base, are almost twice as tall, above sea level as the mountains in L.A. so it makes up for the difference. I've been to L.A. many times, and yes the mountains there are impressive, and beautiful. But in my opinion (just an opinion) they can't compete with the Colorado front range in terms of diverse beauty, as they are mostly overall just the very brown/desert texture I mentioned (again just an opinion). Now when speaking of the Sierra Nevada's it's a different story, but near L.A. it's like I said

[hawg64]

Originally Posted by Maroon197

Just saying...the first time I saw the mountains in Telluride, Ouray, and even Boulder I thought, "Wow". The first time I saw the Rocky Mountains from Denver I thought, "That's it?".

Yes it looks very different in Denver than it does in Telluride, but the front range towers over the plains up to 7,000 feet above sea level. So while Denver is not in the mountains, they are right there next to it and rise very impressively above the city. You're entitled to your opinion, but I'm not sure what you're comparing the Front Range views from Denver to, because no Major City is in an area like Telluride. Plus the Rockies along the front range are taller than any other mountain range close to a Major city. The fact that Denver is at 5,000 feet doesn't matter because the Front Range rises to 14,300 feet. And even though other cities are at sea level with mountains close by, they only rise to 8,000 feet or so at the most, such as the San Gabriel Mountains (the highest peak Mt. San Antonio 10,038 ft. can't easily be seen from L.A. like Mt. Evans can from Denver). So the fact that Denver is at 5,000 feet really makes no difference.

[hawg64]

Originally Posted by denverian

Exactly. To me, the mountain views in the L.A. area are very similar to what you see in Denver.

I guess in Denver the rise from the city to highest peaks would be around 9000 feet. In the L.A. area, I believe Mt. San Gorgonio is the highest at around 11,000 feet. If you're at the base in San Bernardino, I thin SB is close to 1000 ft. in elevation, you have a rise of around 10,000 feet.

Mt. San Antonio is the Highest peak in the San Gabrie'ls, 10,038 feet. So it's not much of a difference from the Front Range near Denver, plus the hilly terrain of L.A. makes it hard to see the San Gabriels from many parts of the city. But yes it's still very impressive.

[MRVphotog]

Yup, the vertical rise of the San Gabriels is similar to the high peaks of the Front Range but that's where the similarites end. Comparing the mountains around LA, which you can barely see and the Rockies is like comparing the MGM in Vegas to a Motel 6.

There are brown foothills west of Denver before the hills rise to the high peaks. DIA is northeast of Denver gotta be at least 40 miles from the high peaks. Only on a clear morning do the Rockies really pop from the DIA. From naive eyes they probably don't look that impressive at other times. Both places have alot of dirty air which doesn't help the distant views either

The comment that the mountains from Boulder look impressive but not from DIA is humorous cause your looking at the same mountains. It's just a matter of distance. Actually when your in Boulder the only mountains you really can see are the brown foothills like Flagstaff. You have to drive up to Nederland or maybe east towards Longmount for the high peaks west of Denver/Boulder to be seen. Course, the Flatirons are very impressive from Boulder but more geological formations than mountains.

Telluride is in a box canyon with the Rockies looming overhead, your right there so of course, they are going to look impressive.

[hawg64]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

Yup, the vertical rise of the San Gabriels is similar to the high peaks of the Front Range but that's where the similarites end. Comparing the mountains around LA, which you can barely see and the Rockies is like comparing the MGM in Vegas to a Motel 6.

There are brown foothills west of Denver before the hills rise to the high peaks. DIA is northeast of Denver gotta be at least 40 miles from the high peaks. Only on a clear morning do the Rockies really pop from the DIA. From naive eyes they probably don't look that impressive at other times. Both places have alot of dirty air which doesn't help the distant views either

The comment that the mountains from Boulder look impressive but not from DIA is humorous cause your looking at the same mountains. It's just a matter of distance. Actually when your in Boulder the only mountains you really can see are the brown foothills like Flagstaff. You have to drive up to Nederland or maybe east towards Longmount for the high peaks west of Denver/Boulder to be seen. Course, the Flatirons are very impressive from Boulder but more geological formations than mountains.

Telluride is in a box canyon with the Rockies looming overhead, your right there so of course, they are going to look impressive.

You're right, when it's a clear day the Rockies look great from DIA, the high peaks even though they are 45+ miles away, still rise impressively above the plains. Everyone just has to understand the concept of distance relating to scale, and you will see/understand how impressive the Rockies really are, despite being far away. But on a smoggy day they are hard/impossible to see just like anywhere else, but they're still there of course. Also good point regarding distance, as you get closer to the Front Range i.e. Boulder, all you see are the foothills as you are right next to them, and the view from say Aurora/Parker gives you a much better view of what the mountains really look like.

[hawg64]

Originally Posted by Maroon197

The rocky mountains in Denver just look like brown hills in the distance, IMO.

Looks like the photo from my previous post responding to your comment didn't load properly, here's another one!

https://www.city-data.com/forum/attac...es-dia-den.jpg

https://www.city-data.com/forum/attac...es-dia-den.jpg