Mount Elbert is part of the Sawatch Range , an uplift of the Laramide Orogeny which separated from the Mosquito Range to the east around 28 million years ago . The tops of this range were heavily glaciated , leaving behind characteristic summit features and other such clues . For example , the base of Elbert on the eastern side exhibits large igneous and metamorphic rocks deposited when the glaciers receded , which lie on a lateral moraine . Further up the eastern side it is a large cirque with a small tarn . It are also lakes to both the north and south , Turquoise and Twin Lakes respectively ; the Twin Lakes are a result of the natural dam of end moraines , and Turquoise Lake was created by the manmade Sugar Loaf Dam .