Rocky Mountain National Park

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

National Parks Research Project

ERS 141

Geology

Instructor: Sandy Smith

By: Danyotta Wright

Tuesday February 26, 2013

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

Colorado, USA

Name of the Park: Rocky Mountain National Park

Location: The state of Colorado in the United States of America.

Rocky Mountain National Park is located in north central Colorado, west of and in between the cities of Fort Collins and Boulder, Colorado.

LOCATION OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

IN COMPARISON TO OTHER PARKS IN THE UNITED STATES

MAP OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

COLORODO, USA

SIZE: 415 SQUARE MILES

MAJOR GEOLOGICAL ATTRACTIONS:

ROCKS AND MINERALS

Sedimentary Rock

Even though most of the sedimentary rocks have metamorphosed into biotite schist and biotite gneiss, there are still some rare original sedimentary structures in the park. The Precambrian crystalline rocks (granite, gneiss, and schist) lie under 95% of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Metamorphic Rock

Some metamorphic rock has been found in and around the park but, scientists have yet to understand their geological makeup. Some of the minerals found in these metamorphic rocks are muscovite, tourmaline and topaz.

Minerals

Rocky Mountain National Park sits north of the Colorado Mineral Belt. “The Colorado Mineral Belt contains the majority of the mining district in Colorado.” (U.S. National Park Service) A lot of the rivers and streams that run through the Rocky Mountain National Park serve as mineral veins to other areas. There are not a lot of mining minerals found in the park but some small amounts of silver, gold, and larimide intrusive rocks have been found in or near the mineral veins. Pegmatites and other types of minerals have been found throughout the park, but they have not been found in large amounts. Volcanic rock has also been found in this area. The quote copied below gives a great explanation of the volcanic rock found in the park....