Kelley Hoopes-GEO 111

Red Rocks was once part of the

ancestral rocky mountains. As this

great mountainous range was

weathered and eroded, sediments

were deposited in the valley below. It

is below the surface where Red

Rocks began to form (Stammer,

2012). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_National_Park

Then about 320 million years ago

during the Pennsylvanian Period,

the ancestral Rockies uplifted

again exposing Red Rocks.

http://travellogs.us/2011%20Logs/Colorado/11-94%20Red%20Rocks%20Park/2011-94%20Red%20Rocks%20Park.htm

http://www.geo.fu-berlin.de/fb/e-learning/geolearning/en/mountain_building/weathering/Erosion3/index.html

Once exposed Red Rocks was

eroded and weathered due to the

natural elements like wind, rain,

and ice. This erosion smoothed

the rocks. A weathering agent

that has helped shape Red

Rocks is called frost wedging

(Hess, 2011). This means water

falls into exposed cracks and

freezes pushing the rocks apart

further. Eventually this causes

rock portions to fall off.

http://geophysics.ou.edu/geol1114/notes/weathering/wx_soil.html

Believe it or not the ancestral Rocky Mountains used to be a glacial mountain. The glacial ice moved slowly downhill picking up rocks and debris which was drug along the bottom of the glacier eroding the underlying rock further. Over time this process of abrasion and plucking eroded what is called a U-valley (Diop, 2011).

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=07eac1b3-64e4-474c-ae0c-e4e64a814695

Glacial Plucking: The action in which rock debris beneath the ice is attached to the ice sheet by the freezing of melted water and then pulled from the ground (Hess, 2011).

http://geotripper.blogspot.com/2011/10/vagabonding-across-39th-parallel-in.html

It is in this U-valley that the magnificent landform was exposed. These

sediments were built up, compressed and then uplifted to create Red

Rocks (Stammer, 2012).

http://redrocksonline.com/Contact.aspx

http://afirstclasswedding.com/mountain-weddings/

One of Red Rocks uses is for a beautiful setting for a wedding.

http://www.denver.org/what-to-do/museum-art/denver-outdoor-summer-movies

Another use is movie night. They play old and new movies during the Colorado summer.

And of course……

https://www.facebook.com/RedRocksOnline

http://www.denver.com/red-rocks/

http://www.redrocksonline.com/

Overall… Red Rocks is a beautiful natural landform that has some cool geological history and is now enjoyed by thousands. If you have not been there it is a trip worth taking!

http://blog.ricksteves.com/?p=7074