Pyrite Geology, Hazards, Publications, Water July 21, 2022 Case Study: NARD Are pristine mountain waters always clean and pure? Can streams unaffected by human activities and livestock influences be unfit for human consumption, or for aquatic life? The existence of natural acid rock drainage (NARD) suggests a “no” to the former, and a “yes” to the latter question. But…
The Flatirons overlooking Boulder Geology, Publications April 21, 2022 Unfolding the Geology of the West Our collaborators and friends up in Boulder at the Geological Society of America (GSA) are making the following special offer available to our loyal subscribers (instructions at the end of the article): As the national GSA conference takes place in Denver every few years, staff at…
MS-51 Interpretive Geothermal Gradient Map of Colorado (detail)|Onsite rig drilling for a geothermal heating/cooling or "heat pump" system in Fort Collins Energy, Geology November 19, 2021 Case Study: geothermal gradient The CGS has long been involved in researching the characteristics of geothermal energy across the state, publishing more than 30 reports on various aspects of this important renewable resource. In that regard we thought we would re-introduce some of that research and how it is accomplished. One…
Looking northwest to Hells Kitchen from Ekkert General, Geology, Publications April 26, 2021 Recent STATEMAP quadrangles The CGS actively participates in the STATEMAP portion of the US Geological Survey’s National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP), a nation-wide effort to generate comprehensive…
The end result of the current trenching on the Cheraw fault Geology, Hazards March 20, 2020 Trenching the Cheraw Fault in Southeastern Colorado One of the missions of the CGS is to better understand the various geological risks that face the residents of the state. While not seen as a seismically active region by most people, Colorado does have its share of geologic faults and historical earthquake activity. The state has over 90…
General December 13, 2019 Quote: Robert Frost, geohazards expert Not only sands and gravels Were once more on their travels, But gulping muddy gallons Great boulders off their balance Bumped heads together dully And started down the gully. Whole capes caked off in slices. I felt my standpoint shaken…
Downtown Creede in 2010. Photo credit: Vince Matthews for the CGS. Geology, Minerals October 16, 2019 Creede: The Last Boom Town This RMPBS/Colorado Experience video explores the vibrant mining history of Creede, Colorado. In so many ways, the story of Colorado is the story of mining. The town of Creede in the south-central Rockies of Colorado stands as one of the last mining…
Uranium roll front hosted in Dakota Sandstone Energy, Minerals August 14, 2018 Geology of Uranium Deposits in Colorado Uranium is a widespread and ubiquitous element. It has a crustal abundance of 2.8 parts per million, slightly more than tin. Primary deposits of uranium tend to concentrate in granitic or alkalic volcanic rocks, hydrothermal veins, marine black shales, and early Precambrian age placer deposits. Secondary (or epigenetic) deposits of…
Soil arch in Qamf deposit, Loutzenhizer Arroyo. Piping cave/soil arch in Qamf deposit, Loutzenhizer Arroyo, Delta County, Colorado, April 2007. Photo credit: David Noe (CGS). Hazards July 12, 2018 Collapsible Soils By Jonathan White, Senior Engineering Geologist, Emeritus At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Century, some of the first settlers of the plateau region of western Colorado along the Colorado River, and the Uncompahgre and North Fork of…
Geology April 28, 2018 Quote: Creative geologic ideas? No Geologist worth anything is permanently bound to a desk or laboratory, but the charming notion that true science can only be based on unbiased observation of nature in the raw is mythology. Creative work, in geology and anywhere else, is interaction and synthesis: half-baked ideas from a bar room,…
Geology March 24, 2018 A Brief History of Colorado Through Time (Geology of Colorado) One of the many fascinating videos from our geo-friends up the road at University of Colorado-Boulder: A Brief History of Colorado Through Time (Geology of Colorado). The Interactive Geology Project was formed in 2002 by professor Paul Weimer…
Diamonds in the rough, note the regular octahedral forms and trigons (of positive and negative relief) formed by natural chemical etching. Photo credit: Wikimedia. Minerals February 19, 2018 What are diamonds? Diamonds are formed from pure carbon, one of the most abundant elements on planet Earth. Diamonds, even from ancient times, have been sought for their extraordinary hardness (they are the hardest substance known) and their brilliance, especially in the colorless transparent gemstone variety. Ironically the other form of pure carbon…