Matt Morgan on a cold day in the field at Titanium Ridge General September 12, 2022 Introducing our new Director Matt Morgan, Colorado Geological Survey, Director and Colorado State Geologist, Red Rocks Park, Morrison, Colorado, July 2022. Photo credit: Matt Morgan. It may not suit everyone, but here at the Colorado Geological Survey we think having a passion for rocks is a good thing.
MS-53 Colorado Stratigraphy Chart Geology, Publications September 7, 2022 MS-53 Colorado Stratigraphy Chart A collaboration between the CGS and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) has resulted in a new stratigraphic chart for the state of Colorado. This beautifully designed color chart was designed from the ground up to illustrate the…
Earthquake damage: significant cracking and displacement in adobe wall of garage Geology, Hazards August 16, 2022 The Great ShakeOut The origins of The Great ShakeOut project lie, unsurprisingly, in Southern California, one of the more seismically active regions of the country. In 2008 a group of experts collaboratively modeled what might happen when a major earthquake hits the Southern California region. The detailed report, titled…
Excerpt drone shot from Dr. Christian Shorey's "Earth Explorations" vlog. General, Geology July 27, 2022 Earth Explorations vlog/podcasts Dr. Christian Shorey—Teaching Professor of Environmental Science and Climatology in the Geology and Geological Engineering Department at Mines—jumped into a social media experiment with the Earth and Environmental Systems Podcast in 2008. After producing more that 60 audio episodes he segued to the…
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…
Skyline Drive General, Geology May 19, 2022 Fremont County geologic attractions Fremont County, two hours south of Denver, is located on the south-central Front Range of Colorado in a geological region called the Cañon City Embayment. Its geological environment and history is incredibly diverse as are its paleontological treasures. It is the only county in Colorado featuring two…
North Table Mountain stands between Golden and the wider Denver metro area in the background. Photo credit: Vince Matthews for the CGS. Geology, Publications May 11, 2022 Golden Rocks: The Geology and Mining History of Golden, Colorado We’ve received the go ahead to help distribute this marvelous (and FREE!) 100+ page digital publication from the talented and insightful Donna Anderson and Paul Haseman. Their passion for geology and for communicating the fascinating and often surprising facts about Golden and its geologic history show through every page…
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…
Munroe Quarry near Livermore Geology, Hazards April 11, 2022 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…
An expansive view of most of Colorado looking from the south-south-west from the International Space Station (ISS). Photo credit: NASA. General, Geology April 8, 2022 NASA Earth Observatory One of our favorite online feeds is from the NASA Earth Observatory along with their Image of the Day. After catching a recent article on the San Luis Valley, we thought that our loyal subscribers might be interested…
Helicorder trace from Trinidad seismometer station Geology, Hazards March 25, 2022 CGS Seismic Stations Early History The Colorado School of Mines first acquired and installed a single three-component seismograph in the Cecil H. Green Observatory at Bergen Park, about 9 mi (14 km) southwest of Golden. That system was in continuous high-gain operation into the 1980s and was, during that…
Interstate-70 running through Glenwood Canyon is one of the most spectacular segments of the US Interstate system. Photo credit: Vince Matthews for the CGS. Geology March 16, 2022 The Glenwood Canyon Highway This recent RMPBS/Colorado Experience video traces the history of transportation through Colorado’s spectacular Glenwood Canyon. It focuses on the complex construction process of Interstate-70 that sought to harmonize with the geology and the landscape. Initially fraught with controversy and opposition, the Glenwood Canyon Highway is one…