Colorado contains abundant renewable and nonrenewable energy resources. The state presently generates electricity from a combination of coal, natural gas, and, increasingly, renewable sources.
Colorado has diverse geologic structures, rocks, soil types, topography, and climatic conditions that combine to create a range of dynamic natural processes.
Colorado contains an abundance of mineral resources. The state has a long history of mining that started during the 1858 Colorado Gold Rush (also known as the Pikes Peak Gold Rush) before the area was established as a territory.
Colorado’s water resources supply water not only to the state itself, but also to many surrounding states.
From the low-lying eastern plains, to the central peaks soaring more than 14,000 feet above sea level, to the western red-rock canyons: the colorful landscape of Colorado embodies some of the most varied, spectacular, and well-displayed geology in the nation.
Explore our collection of over nine hundred publications — most available for free download! Dive into topics ranging from energy, mineral, and water resources to geologic hazards, and discover the rich, diverse geology of Colorado.
Find out more about the Colorado Geological Survey, including our mission, history, and current staff members.
Colorado has some of the most varied, spectacular, and ultimately visible geology in the nation, spanning 2.7 billion years of the Earth’s history. From the eastern High Plains, to the central Rockies soaring more than 14,000 ft (4,200 m) above sea level, and to the western red-rock canyons, Colorado has incredibly diverse rocks, minerals, and fossils, along with many active geological processes and hazards.
The CGS is a leading scientific organization studying the geology and the complex geological processes around the state, producing detailed geologic, groundwater, and geologic hazard maps, along with mineral and energy resource information. The staff at the CGS combine expert field-work with laboratory and bibliographic research to describe and map Colorado geology. Funding sources include the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (STATEMAP) as well as other local, state, and federal agencies. CGS data, maps, and publications, most of them free for download, are found through our GIS/Data index and the CGS Bookstore.