|||||||| General June 5, 2024 Cumbres & Toltec Geology Train – June 9th, 2024 Many of you know and love the Geology Train – the Colorado Geological Survey’s twice-annual partnership with the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad offering a unique experience observing spectacular geology in Colorado and New Mexico. Our next ride departs on June 9th and tickets are still available! This June,…
On the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Geology Train trip Geology August 9, 2023 Cumbres and Toltec Geology Train This year’s September 10th Geology Train — a very special and popular opportunity to enjoy some spectacular geology and scenery in southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico — isn’t quite sold out! Our very own Peter Barkmann, senior hydrogeologist (emeritus) and …
Hazards August 7, 2023 Wildfires 101 Although the US wildfire season this year doesn’t seem quite as intense as prior ones, we thought this excellent primer on how NASA, NOAA, and new technologies are helping predict and monitor wildfires around the globe.
Flooding and erosive flows following a 2004 rainstorm caused this bridge collapse in El Paso County. East Sand Creek had been "channelized" upstream of this structure - possibly concentrating the flows and resulting in this damage. Photo credit: Colorado Geological Survey.|Bank erosion (cut bank caving) along the North Fork of the Gunnison River in Paonia Hazards, Water November 11, 2022 Case study: Fluvial Hazard Zone “The Fluvial Hazard Zone (FHZ) is defined as the area a stream has occupied in recent history, may occupy, or may physically influence as it stores and transports water, sediment, and debris.” The CGS often collaborates with local, state, and federal agencies on projects concerning emergency preparedness and community…
ON-001 Colorado Earthquake and Fault Map|Great Colorado ShakeOut contest illustration. General, Hazards September 23, 2022 The Great Colorado ShakeOut 2022 It’s coming up in less than four weeks! The Great Colorado ShakeOut is a public earthquake drill that takes place every year on the third Thursday of October across the state, the country, and the world. This year the official collective drill takes place Thursday, October 20th, 2022, at 10:20…
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…
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…
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…
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…