Garden of the Gods, Colorado
Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
Location: Viewpoint at 38o 52' 46" N, 104o 53' 00" W. The large rock in the center is at 38o 52' 32" N, 104o 52' 27" W.
The Front Range of the Rockies in Colorado is bordered by a huge fault, where rocks west of the fault were uplifted thousands of feet compared to rocks on the east. As the fault began to move, layered rocks over the fault didn't break at first. Instead they drooped over the fault creating a structure called a monocline. The rocks closest to the fault were actually tilted vertically. That is what happened here. The fault is just west of the location here, out of the picture to the right.
The mountain in the distance on the right edge of the picture is Cheyenne Mountain, where the underground command center for the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) is located.
Original Scene
(author's image)
Possible Coloring
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Created 19 February 2008, Last Update 15 January 2020