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Needle Rock lies within the western edge of the West Elk Mountains in western central Colorado. It is the remnant of a volcanic plug that pushed up through the crust, and due to the relative hardness of the basalt of which it is made, has eroded significantly slower than the surrounding mancos shale and sandstone that makes up many of the rocks in the area. There are private property parcels around the base, but there is a BLM trail that more or less rings the Needle.