Pyrite
Pyrite

Geology, Hazards, Publications, Water

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…

Munroe Quarry near Livermore
Munroe Quarry near Livermore

Geology, Hazards

Case Study: Lykins Formation

Small but significant areas of Colorado are underlain by bedrock that is composed of evaporative minerals. These are salts and sulfates that precipitate out of salt-concentrated surface waters. In the geologic past these minerals were deposited in shallow seas within closed or restricted basins where…

Check dams along drainage ditch
Check dams along drainage ditch

Hazards, Water

Case Study: stormwater

Stormwater runoff is excess water associated with a rain or snow storm event that flows over the land surface and is measurable in a downstream river, stream, ditch, gutter, or pipe. From a regulatory perspective, stormwater is managed through some sort of engineered conveyance and is focused…

MS-51 Interpretive Geothermal Gradient Map of Colorado (detail)|Onsite rig drilling for a geothermal heating/cooling or
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

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…

Figure 3 -- This development in west Glenwood Springs constructed a rockfall impact wall above their townhomes to protect against both rockfall and mudslides (debris flows). Photo credit: Jon White for the CGS.|Figure 2 -- Several large rocks from the western wall of the Roaring Fork River in Glenwood Springs crashed into the houses below during the early morning causing significant damage
Figure 3 -- This development in west Glenwood Springs constructed a rockfall impact wall above their townhomes to protect against both rockfall and mudslides (debris flows). Photo credit: Jon White for the CGS.|Figure 2 -- Several large rocks from the western wall of the Roaring Fork River in Glenwood Springs crashed into the houses below during the early morning causing significant damage

Hazards

Case Study: Rockfall – Glenwood Springs

The town of Glenwood Springs in west-central Colorado lies at the confluence of the Roaring Fork and Colorado rivers. The town is tightly constrained by the steep river valleys so land-development pressure is causing residential growth to push into rockfall hazard areas. In West Glenwood, on the west side…

By August 2005
By August 2005

Hazards

Case Study: Clear Creek Canyon rockslide

Rockfalls and rock slides are common along transportation corridors in the Rocky Mountains. Clear Creek Canyon just west of Golden is one of the most active rockfall areas in Colorado. The canyon has been cut into Precambrian schists and gneisses by Clear Creek, one of the primary drainages in the…

Avalanche debris in the runout zone taken from a helicopter on the morning after the avalanche occurred
Avalanche debris in the runout zone taken from a helicopter on the morning after the avalanche occurred

Hazards

Case Study: Avalanche – Silver Plume

On March 23, 2003, a large avalanche occurred about one mile west of the Town of Silver Plume. The avalanche brought trees, rock, soil and snow to the valley floor, knocked down overhead utility lines, blocked the I-70 frontage road, damaged the town’s water treatment plant (WTP), and dammed Clear Creek. The dam was breached using explosives before the plant’s electric pump motors were flooded. With damage to the WTP’s chlorine contact tank and building, Silver Plum...