The Anthracite Range is one of several prominent laccoliths found in the West Elk Mountains.

[3][4] The Anthracite Range is a laccolith, formed when magma intruded into sedimentary strata of the Mesaverde Formation approximately 30 million years ago.

[4][5] The range is named after anthracite, a high-quality, metamorphized coal found in the sedimentary rock of the Mesaverde Formation at the base of this and nearby laccoliths.

[4] The Anthracite Range is an east-west oriented ridge less than 5 miles (8 km) in length, but there are several summits of interest to mountaineers and peakbaggers.

These summits are most often accessed from Ohio Pass where a climber's trail enters the wilderness area, traverses southwest across talus slopes then up through a cirque to the ridge just west of Unnamed Peak 11,555.