Welcome to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre! This quick earthcache will take you from a parking area up a short trail (around 500 feet) to a gorgeous view of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.
The mountains you see here are composed of many different layers of sandstone and shale that have been eroded over many years. If the layers that were eroded were restored where you are now, they would be more than two miles thick. The sandstone and shale were deposited as flat layers of sand and mud in streams, lakes, and shallow seas long ago. Later, the flat layers were bent upward during the rise of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Since then, they have been eroded to their present form. The sandstone layers are hard, and their eroded edges form great ridges. The soft shale layers form valleys that extend far to the north and south.
At this spot, you will find an amazing view of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains Please answer the following questions to log this earthcache:
1) Using the sign at this site as a reference point, what degree angle is Green Mountain visible from your viewpoint? (you can use either straight in front of you as an axis or directly left of you as an axis)
2) Both wind and water erosion helped form the Dakota Hogback, but which do you think was more influential based on this view?
3) How thick would the eroded layers be if they were restored?
4) BONUS: (not required) Which dinosaurs' fossils have been found within the Front Range view you are observing?
5) OPTIONAL: Snag a picture of your group with the view behind you.
Hope you enjoy this earthcache and your time at Red Rocks!