Del Norte's absolute location is at (37.679015, -106.352976). Relatively-speaking, it is located where the Rio Grande leaves the San Juan Mountains and enters the San Luis Valley, near its confluences with Pinos Creek and San Francisco Creek, respectively. Due to its location on the western edge of the valley, a variety of climates, vegetation regions, and ecosystems transition into each other at or around Del Norte. Within a twenty mile radius of the town, you can experience anything from alpine tundra, montane forests, to high-altitude desert. Common vegetation around Del Norte ranges from coniferous pine trees, deciduous aspen trees and cottonwoods, to chico brush and cacti. During the warmer months of the year, hollyhock, cosmos, poppies, and sunflowers are frequently found around the town. Lookout Mountain (also known to locals as 'D' Mountain) overlooks the town, and is perhaps its most notable landmark. The classification of 'mountain' has been a misnomer, considering that 'D' Mountain has a mild prominence from the rest of the town (approximately 591 feet), and that there is nearby terrain with much greater prominence; however, the classification has stuck since early settlement.