Colorado Geology

Colorado is located in the mid western part of the United States, bordered by Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. “Being located as a mid-latitude interior continental state (and having the highest average elevation in the United States), combined with complex topography, results in dramatic climate differences from place to place and from year to year. From the Great Plains of eastern Colorado to the high peaks of the Rockies and the Continental Divide, to the valleys, canyons and plateaus of western Colorado, the various climates are each very different.” (CCC) The population of Colorado as a whole is 5,029,196 as of a 2010 Census estimate and the capital is Denver. Other big cities consist of Colorado Springs, Aurora, and Fort Collins.
Rocky Mountain National Park is a park in Boulder, Colorado that was formed about 1.6 to 1.7 billion years ago from the collision of the North American plate and the Pacific Plate. Within Rocky Mountain National Park there are many other geologic features such as majestic mountain views, a variety of wildlife, varied climates and environments. The area occupied by the park has been repeatedly uplifted and eroded. Although many of its mountaintops have been flattened by ancient erosion, recent glaciation has left steep scars, U-shaped valleys, lakes, and moraine deposits. The Park's oldest rocks were produced when plate movements subjected sea sediments to intense pressure and heat. “The resulting metamorphic rocks (schist and gneiss) are estimated to be 1.8 billion years old. Later, large intrusions of hot magma finally cooled about 1.4 million years ago to form a core of crystalline igneous rock (mostly granite).”( NPS) The Rocky Mountain National Park also includes the Continental Divide, which is the hydrological divide of America that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Another tourist attraction that is also known as a