The Foration of Red Rocks

Red Rocks Park is truly an incredible work of Mother Nature. It provides the only completely natural amphitheater in the world, and, more importantly, a detailed chronological map of the geologic history of Colorado. In this paper, I will give a detailed account of a time span that includes oceans retreating and advancing repeatedly, rivers and streams coming and going, desert conditions, tropical climates, mountains rising out of the ground and then disappearing, and even dinosaurs ruling and eventually dying out. This account is based on geologic studies of the stories left behind by rocks that have seen this world being born, dying, and being born again and again.

The Precambrian history of Colorado on record began between 1.8 and 2 billion years ago. In this period of geologic time, the Earth was newly formed and the temperatures under the surface were much higher than they are today. Due to these higher temperatures, the masses of land floating on the basalt plates moved quickly and rapidly. Immense changes beyond our imagination were taking place. Continents, or rather islands, at this time were numerous and much smaller than those we know today, due to the fact that plate ro

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