Where is it Legal to Pan for Gold?
They say what goes around comes around. The first great wave of settlers came to Colorado in the 1859 Pikes Peak Gold Rush. Today, gold …
geology
Swelling Soils: Homebuyers Beware
If you’re looking at buying a home in the Denver Metro area, particularly in the area around C-470 near Bowles and Wadsworth in Jefferson County, …
Silver Mining
Colorado is famous for its gold – our State Capitol dome is clad in the precious metal, and the Pikes Peak Gold Rush was one of …
Dinosaur National Monument
On this day 97 years ago, October 4, 1915, Dinosaur National Monument in western Colorado and eastern Utah was established. Dinosaur National Monument is so named …
Colorado’s State Symbols: The State Rock
Not to be confused with the State Gemstone (Aquamarine) and the State Mineral (Rhodochrosite), the State Rock is Colorado Yule Marble. Quarried in Marble, Colorado in …
Colorado’s State Symbols: The State Mineral
Colorado’s State Mineral is the deep red Rhodochrosite. The Colorado State Archives tells us that “On April 17, 2002, Colorado Governor Bill Owens signed a bill passed …
Colorado Geology for Tourists
Are you taking a road trip through Colorado this summer? Looking for something to do with out-of-town guests? Or just interested in our state’s natural …
Colorado's State Symbols: The State Gemstone
Because Colorado’s mountains are rich in minerals, there are many gemstones to be found in our state, but only one has the distinction of being …
Colorado's State Symbols: The State Fossil
Schoolchildren suggested Colorado adopt a state fossil, the dinosaur Stegosaurus, in 1982. One of the most recognized dinosaurs, with its line of plates along its …
Hayden Expedition
The famous Hayden Expedition of 1871, led by geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden, was instrumental in surveying and mapping what would become Yellowstone National Park the …
Colorado Geology
This weekend I visited Roxborough State Park for the first time. My hike along the trail brought views of spectacular rock formations …
Dinosaur National Monument
Today is the 96th birthday of Dinosaur National Monument, designated in 1915. The area is named, of course, for the dinosaurs that once roamed the …
The Colorado Gold Rush.
Did you know it’s believed that more people came to the Colorado Gold Rush than to the California Gold Rush? It’s true. The Colorado Gold …
Earthquakes in Colorado
Last night southwestern Colorado was shaken by a magnitude 5.3 earthquake centered 9 miles southwest of Trinidad. Large earthquakes are not frequently experienced here in …
Colorado Gemstones
Colorado is certainly known for mining gold, silver, and other minerals, but many people don’t realize that Colorado is also the source of many beautiful …
Tourist Mines
Colorado has a rich history of mining and mineral extraction; in fact, if not for the 1859 Pikes Peak Gold Rush and silver boom of …
Rockfall
The recent closure of I-70 due to a huge rockfall in Glenwood Canyon made me curious to see what information I could find on landslides …
Colorado Geology Map for Tourists
If you’re taking a road trip through Colorado this summer, you might want to check out the Colorado Geological Survey’s Tourist Guide to Colorado Geology, …
Dinosaurs in Colorado
We just received from the Colorado Geological Survey a cd-rom entitled Dinosaurs in Our Backyard. This is an interactive look at Colorado paleontology, focused mostly …
Volcanoes in the Western U.S.
Last weekend, on vacation in New Mexico, I visited the Bandalier National Monument and the nearby Valles Caldera National Preserve, a huge, 89,000-acre sunken crater …