Sawatch Range Sawatch Range The Sawatch Range is a high and extensive mountain range in central Colorado which includes eight of the twenty highest peaks in the Rocky Mountains, including Mount Elbert, at elevation, the highest peak in the Rockies. The range is oriented along a northwest-southeast axis, extending approximately from in the north to in the south. The range contains 15 peaks topping , also known as 14ers. The range forms a portion of the Continental Divide, and its eastern flanks are drained by the headwaters of the Arkansas River. The western side of the range feeds the headwaters of the
Mount Elbert who was surveying the mountain as part of the Hayden Survey. Originally measured as in height, Mount Elbert's elevation was later adjusted to following a re-evaluation of mapped elevations, which sparked protests. The actual change was made in 1988 as a result of the North American Vertical Datum of 1988; it seems the original measurement resulted from the Sea Level Datum of 1929. A matter of some contention arose after the Great Depression over the heights of Elbert and its neighbor Mount Massive, which differ in elevation by only . This led to an ongoing dispute that came to a