LARAMIE MOUNTAINS

range of the central Rocky Mountains, in southeastern Wyoming, U.S. A northern section of Colorado's Front Range, it stretches north-northwestward for 125 mi (200 km) from the WyomingColorado border, between Laramie and Cheyenne, to the North Platte River, around Casper. The range (roughly 2550 mi wide) rises about 3,000 ft (900 m) from the Great Plains on the east and 1,500 ft from the Laramie Basin on the west. It exceeds 9,000 ft in many places, with Laramie Peak (10,274 ft) being the high point. Its low southern portion provides a relatively easy path into the Rockies for the Union Pacific Railroad, as well as for a cross-country highway. Two divisions of the Medicine Bow National Forest encircle the mountains, which were named for Jacques La Ramie (see Laramie).