Phone: 
(303) 697-3466

Fax:
(303) 697-8911

Mailing
Address:
16831 W Alameda Pkwy
Morrison, Colorado
80465  

Ridge Report
Volume 18, Number 2
(note - formatting of this page is different from printed copy)

Just after leaving his handprint in place at the CU Denver Dinosaur Tracks Museum, the famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who wrote dozens of award winning BBC books, poses on the FODR tracksite.

Volume 18, Number 2
2006 Summer Issue

Knight on the Rocks
By Martin Lockley

How many knights of the British realm have worked at Rednecks? The answer is at least two. The first was then Beatle Paul McCartney - now the 64 year old Sir Paul, who coincidentally played Red Rocks in '64, long before he was knighted. The second is Sir David Attenborough, world famous popularizer of Natural History films, and brother of the equally famous Oscar-winning film director Sir, (also Lord) Richard Attenborough.

Sir D. A. and his film crew from the BBC Natural History unit in Bristol. UK, visited on June 17-20th to film sequences for his new five part series In Cold Blood that will include shots of Red Rocks and Dinosaur Ridge, where some of America's most famous dinosaurs were first discovered. The series explores the perennial debate about whether or not dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures were warm blooded like modern mammals and birds.

Attenborough, who is now 80 years old, has worked for the BBC for more than 50 years, mostly as a senior executive: but he is deeply immersed in hands on science and natural history and is a prolific author of many very popular books. Having traveled to many of the world's more exotic locations, he is no stranger to Colorado. In the 1980s he filmed parts of his Lost Worlds Vanished Lives series at the famous dinosaur track site along the Purgatoire River south of La Junta. At that time Paleontologist Martin Lockley, from the CU Denver Dinosaur Tracks Museum, acted as his tracking guide. On this trip he filmed the tracks at Dinosaur Ridge, again using Lockley and Dinosaur Ridge Executive Director Joe Tempel as consultants.

Attenborough is famous for many series, including Life of Earth. Possibly the most enduring Attenborough image from this series is his touching close encounter with a mountain gorilla from Rwanda, as they reached out to touch fingertips. The British public, which loves Sir David, and his extremely popular natural history series, voted this man-meets-ape episode into second place. Their favorite was an Australian Lyrebird scene from the Life of Birds, easily found online as a video clip. This extraordinary bird not only imitates a dozen other species, but can also do perfect renditions of a chain saw, car alarms, and camera shutters- all cleverly captured on film and audio tape.

In the realm of natural history, however, Attenborough counts paleontology as one of his special loves. "As a patriotic Englishman" he said, tongue-in-cheek " I am proud to say that it was in England that the first dinosaurs were found and given their name, but there can be no doubt that it is here in the wild west that the most spectacular finds have been made and it is a great thrill to visit again and examine the evidence first hand."

As proof of his dedication to paleontology Sir David visited the Dinosaur Tracks Museum at the CU Denver Downtown Campus and left Colorado with an impression of his hand to add to the collection of dinosaur tracks and other fossil footprints. Lockley, told Attenborough that had he been a famous runner he would have asked for a footprint, but as he is a famous author a handprint was more appropriate. Lockley, whose naturalist father worked with Attenborough on BBC projects, remembers going to his first Attenborough lecture some 50 year ago. He said he was pleased to finally bag the track of such a rare bird.

Martin Lockley and Sir David Attenborough
 

Friends of Dinosaur Ridge 16831 West Alameda Parkway Morrison, Colorado 80465
Tel: 303-697-DINO (3466) www.dinoridge.org
Editor: Ed Warren
Design and Production: Ed Warren

The Friends of Dinosaur Ridge (FODR), a 501 C3 non-profit tax exempt organization, was established to protect the natural resources on Dinosaur Ridge and Triceratops Trail, and to educate visitors about the area's geologic, prehistoric and natural features.

Major Contributors
Gates Family Foundation
Coors Foundation
Great Outdoors Colorado
Jeffco Conservation Trust Funds
Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD)
Jefferson County Open Space
Boettcher Foundation

Friends of Dinosaur Ridge 2006
Officers
President Chris Carroll - CO Geological Survey
Vice-President Sam Bartlett - Bureau of Recl. Retired
Secretary Bob Raynolds - Consulting Geologist
Treasurer Keith - Meakins Accountant
 
Executive Committee Members
Norb Cygan - Geologist
Duff Kerr Kerr & Associates
Kathleen McCoy - Lawyer
Pete Martin - U. S. Bureau of Reclamation
Betty Rail - Geologist
Ed Warren - Geological Engineer, Ret.

Board of Directors.
Tim Connors - National Park Service
Harald Drewes - Geologist
DuWayne Ebertowski - Fed. Hwy Admin., Ret.
Jan Jacobs - Technical Editor
John Kelly - Geologist
Susan Landon - Thomasson Partner Associates
Martin Lockley - University of Colorado, Denver
Marge MacLachlan - Geologist
Pete Modreski - United States Geological Survey
Beth Simmons - Metro State College
Jeff Stephenson - Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Andy Taylor - Metro State College

Committee Chairs
Pete Martin - Budget
Beth Simmons - Education
Joe Tempel - Fundraising
Tom Moklestad - Outreach
Sam Bartlett - Preservation
Martin Lockley - Publications

Staff- Friends of Dinosaur Ridge
Executive Director- Joe Tempel
Program & Operations Director - Tom Moklestad
Educational Programs Assistant- Erin Fair
Visitor Center Manager - Roger Bennett
Visitor Center Assistant - Jack Davidson
Visitor Center Assistant- Barb Davidson
VC Assistant & Computer Tech - Brian Davidson

Update on the Ancient Environmental Education Center
By Joe Tempel

Construction is about to get underway on the Ancient Environmental Education Center. We have received a building permit from Jefferson County and bids are coming in from contractors wishing to work on the barn renovation. Approximately $260,000 has been raised for the barn and site improvements estimated to cost $300,000. Norb Cygan was instrumental in obtaining a $10,000 grant from Chevron, the company for which he worked most of his career. We are in the process of soliciting funds from other oil companies to complete the fundraising effort.

FODR Executive Director Joe Tempel breaking ground for the new Ancient Environmental Education Center on July 24, 2006

Palm Frond Shade Structure at Triceratops Trail

The Golden Civic Foundation recently awarded Dinosaur Ridge a $15,000 challenge grant to build the palm frond shade structure at Fossil Trace. This brings our fundraising effort to $16,000. We estimate the project to cost $35,000 and we are seeking the remaining funds from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District and the Jefferson County Conservation Fund.

Hot Pretzels at Dinosaur Ridge

The next time you come to Dinosaur Ridge you may notice we are selling hot pretzels, granola mix, and fruit bars. These items are being sold under one of our portable tents in front of the Visitor Center. Holly Tempel is organizing the effort and Laura Marshall is selling the merchandise. If you close your eyes and put mustard on the hot pretzel, you think you are eating a hot dog. Come on out and have a hot pretzel the next time you are at the Ridge.
*****************************************************************************************
Tracksite Preservation Team
By Sam Bartlett

Issue: The main tracksite on Dinosaur Ridge has been deteriorating since its initial exposure in 1937. The rate of deterioration is accelerating and if left untreated will continue to accelerate. Eventually, enough tracks will be lost that this tracksite will cease to become the centerpiece attraction and a major asset for the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge. We are on the frontier of preserving dinosaur tracks in place.
Tracksite Preservation Team: At the request of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge, a Tracksite Preservation Team was formed to address the issues at the main tracksite on Dinosaur Ridge. The Mission of the Tracksite Preservation Team is to works towards a permanent solution for preserving the deteriorating tracksite. In accomplishing this mission, the Tracksite Preservation Committee will evaluate actions taken to date, current actions being taken, research to evaluate applicable preservation methods, formulate plans and schedules for permanent remediation measures, address funding to accomplish the accepted solutions and implement selected permanent preservation methods.
The Preservation Team met Wednesday evening July 19th at the tracksite before the Board Meeting for an initial discussion with Susan Collins, State Archaeologist/Colorado Historical Society and Amy P. Ito, Jefferson County Open Space Planning and Development Manager. Various track preservation options were presented and discussed. Future meetings will be held as additional research is gathered regarding preservation of the tracks

Progam Director's Report
By Tom Moklestad

Visitation and Attendance
Visitors to Visitor Center
Tours (Attendance)
Other Educational Programs
DDD (Dinosaur Discovery Day)
Saturday Shuttle Bus (New Program) 231

2nd Otr. '06 1st Half '06 Change from '05
16,711 23,024 +13%
3,197 4,184 +25%
137 237 +225%
iy) 1,910 1,910 +664%
231

Dinosaur Discovery Days (DDD)

The first 3 DDD's of 2006 were well attended. On May 6 DDD attracted hundreds of scouts with 120 Boy Scouts earning the Geology Merit Badge. An estimated 450 Cub Scouts and Webelos earned awards related to Earth Science Total visitation of 1500 set a modern record for DDD. About 60 volunteers from RMAG (Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists), Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow, and Friends of Dinosaur Ridge assisted scouts from the Metro Area, Colorado Springs, and Wyoming. It was reported that a Boy Scout with his dad flew in from Minnesota for the event. Thanks go to Clare Marshall for her excellent organization and all the volunteers for their efforts. A second Boy Scout Day is planned for May 5, 2007.

June 3 DDD and July 1 DDD each drew about 400 visitors. On the deck of the Visitor Center kids enjoyed several fun and
educational activities including face painting, facilitated bone digging, and Stegosaurus branding. Thanks to the several
volunteers who pitched in for these new activities: Doris Meakins, Karin Bond, Beth Simmons, Doris Walker, Nancy Cocroft, Betty Rail, Larry Lange and Evan Booth.  These two events helped generate excellent revenue in the gift shop and on the shu.tle bus. A similar event is planned for September 2 DDD

Upcoming DD Days

FODR Volunteer LeRoy Shaser addresses Boy Scouts on DDD (Boy Scout Day)

On August 5 DDD, the group Geocaching Colorado will present "GPS Treasure Hunt with Geocaching." Jokingly they say they "use a billion dollar satellite system to find dollar store boxes." FODR will have a booth for Letterboxing that will include dinosaur stamp making for kids along with what are now old standbys: facilitated bone digging and Stegosaurus branding. The Greater Denver Area Gem & Mineral Council will give away mineral specimens to kids as they remind people to attend the Gem & Mineral Show September 15-17.

Registration for October 7 DDD (Girl Scout Day) is being handled by the Girl Scouts as follows: Linda Fuller, Program & Training
Executive, Girl Scouts - Mile High Council, Main: 303-778-8774
400 S. Broadway, P.O. Box 9407, Denver, CO 80209-0407 Direct: 303-607-4838

Saturday Shuttle Bus (New Program)
A free program similar to one at Bryce Canyon National Park began June 10 and will run through August 26. "Vanasaurus" has been operating on the Ridge from 10 AM to 2 PM on Saturdays. Andrea Campos, an RTD driver, has been hired to carry visitors from the Visitor Center to bus stops at the Bulges and the Mangrove Swamp and back. So far a donation box on the bus has collected a little more than half the cost of fuel and Andrea's wages with indications that the Gift Shop does better on those days. Because of a rainout and July ODD, the last run was June 24 when 161 visitors rode the shuttle.

Volunteers
As mentioned above volunteerism on the Ridge for DDD has been excellent, although some of our stalwarts have been working double shifts. Thanks to Don Walker and Marge MacLachlan who have resurfaced to help with the bus tent, which has been a very good source of revenue since we started providing shade for visitors while they wait for the shuttle.

Tours in June were up 33% from June '05, and the average size of tours was small so that many guides were needed. Consequently, of the 111 guide-hours for June, 63 were filled by staff and 48 were filled by volunteers. Covering the booked tours with volunteer guides continues to be one of the biggest challenges of the Programs Department.

Members The Friends of Dinosaur Ridge welcome the following new members:
Dana Samuelson, Fergus Falls, MN - Jr.
Judy Giggy, Lakewood - Individual
Amy Whitcombe-Huber, Fergus Falls - Jr.
Art & Nancy Lowell, Centennial - Fam.
James Dunion, Denver - Ornitho. Sponsor
Nathan Nieburg, Charlottesville, VA - Jr.
Jim & Sandra Bushnell, Colo. Spgs. - Fam.
Silver Wood Hotel, Colo. Spgs. - Sponsor
Wild Birds Unlimited, Lakewood - Sponsor

A New Member Benefit
Recently the Lakewood Heritage Center at 801 S. Yarrow (Ohio & Wadsworth) in Lakewood at the Belmar Complex donated six 4'x6' display panels that have already been used at several events. In addition to carrying FODR's publications, their Gift Shop is offering FODR members a 10% discount on purchases. History buffs, especially, will enjoy browsing in their beautiful store.
Outreach (or herding Stegos)

For the inaugural running of the Colfax Marathon, the City of Lakewood gave FODR a grant to refurbish the Stegosaurs that currently graze on the grounds of the Visitor Center. These colorful sculptures were touched up with a multitude of colors of paint and then sealed with a clear overcoat. May 20, we loaded all six into a 24-foot rental truck and took them to Colfax and Dover to adorn one of the rest stops for the Marathon. Thanks to Dan Green for twice helping us load, unload and tie down the beasts. Even though they were on the corner less than 24 hours, a few of our visitors have reported seeing them there. Remarkably a mother who ran the marathon in the morning attended a birthday party in the afternoon at the Visitor Center.

Using newly gained herding experience and a rental truck, my wife Lorie and I took a mini herd of 3 Stegos to the Pike's Peak Gem and Mineral Show on June 16-18 Our kind hosts, the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society , www.CSMS.us , featured FODR in the show and we were given a short interview on KKCS-FM. A special thanks is due president Drew Malin and treasurer Jim Bushnell. As a merit badge counselor, Jim's wife Sandra brought scouts to DDD.

In between the aforementioned events Joe and I were invited to take our unofficial mascot, Star, the Star Spangled Stegosaurus, to the Wild West Car Show in Golden on June 10. He/she looked great with new hat and flag standing in the middle of Washington Street next to the bronze sculpture of Buffalo Bill Cody.

Upcoming outreach events in the 3rd quarter that we will attend include the Jefferson County Fair on July 29, the Mountain Heritage Festival at the Hiwan Museum in Evergreen on August 5, the Mesa Music Festival in Golden on August 27, and the Denver Gem and Mineral Show September 15-17. We particularly need volunteers to man our booth at the Denver show. Even a two-hour shift would be appreciated. You will get free admission and we promise you will not have to wrangle Stegosaurs.

Trendsetting
After one of their people visited the Visitor Center, a nature center in Georgia called with questions about our Dig Pit - they plan to build a similar one. And we learned that a museum in Colorado (but not in the Metro Area) is advertising a program whereby Boy Scouts can earn their Geology Merit Badges. So we do not always follow - sometimes we lead. As staffer Roger Bennett likes to say, "Keep those
ideas coming."
************************************************************

First Boy Scout Day at Dinosaur Ridge Saturday, May 6,2006
By Clare P. Marshall

The day began with mud and mist and too many cars. At 7 AM, people were coming to the Dinosaur Ridge Visitor Center ready to help organize and set up. Some were Boy Scouts, some FODR volunteers along with many other helpers for this very special day.

By 9:00, a line of people streamed out into the field where cars were parked, north of the Visitor Center. This bit of confusion changed into a smooth, certain flow of visitors throughout the day. All the Ridge stops were manned with geologists and geophysicists, mostly from the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, who sponsored the event. Tables around the Visitor Center were also manned by RMAG helpers, as well as students from the Geology Clubs at the Colorado School of Mines.

The Friends sponsored a booth where younger scouts could paint plaster footprints and learn about the process of making molds of fossils. Girl Scouts sold hot dogs and drinks east of the gift shop. A high school group sold popcorn and cotton candy at the hairpin on the Ridge. The Order of the Arrow Boy Scout service organization supplied volunteers with lunches and much needed cold drinks. Everyone pitched in to help visitors enjoy the natural wonder of Dinosaur Ridge.

Scouts learned about rock types, geologic time, fossils and minerals at the Visitor Center. Rock and mineral identification trunks were loaned to us from the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum.

Over 500 Cub and Webelo Scouts earned their belt loops, academic pins and Geology badges. On the Ridge, the USGS had a geologic map station, RMAG had a career station and a mining station for the Boy Scout level merit badge requirements. With the help of Boy Scout Geology Merit Badge Counselors, led by Gary Robinson, around 120 Boy Scouts earned their Geology Merit Badges.
The day ended with a double rainbow. It was a good investment of time and energy.

Guides Corner
By Sam Bartlett

In the last issue of the Ridge Report, we included a "test" that Pete Modreski created for the Dino Ridge Teacher's workshop in the summer. Here are the long awaited answers to that "test." The questions in the "test" lead to the essence of the presentation by the guides on the Ridge. Thus, with the answers in hand, you too are qualified to become a guide on Dinosaur Ridge. Even if you didn't do too well on the "test," we would love to have you join us as a tour guide and you can learn all of the answers and more "on the job."

(?) Note: Since most paleontologists accept birds as true, living relatives of the dinosaurs, Archaeopteryx and the Lark Bunting could be included in the dinosaur grouping.

Cryolophosaurus "Frozen crested lizard"

(Cry - o - low - foe. - sore - us")

Cryolophosaurus got its name from the continent it was found on - Antarctica, this was the first meat-eating dinosaur (called theropods) found as well as named from the frozen land.

Cryolophosaurus was found in 1991 by paleontologist William Hammer, and it wasn't alone. A prosauropod (pre-long-neck) similar to Plateosaurus, a small pterodactyl, a primitive mammal, and another unknown theropod were found beside it, telling us that even though
Antarctica was closer to the equator than it is now, the dinosaurs could live in cool temperatures and even survive snow.

Because of the unusual crest on the dinosaur's head, it was originally given the name 'Elvisaurus', with the crest reminding people of Elvis' pompadore hair style.

This animal lived in the Early Jurassic period, and may be the precursor to the Allosaur.
 

"Collections from Lower Laramie Strata - 1885"
By Beth Simmons

For those who have been wondering about the identification of the fossil leaves at Triceratops Trail, perhaps this will help. In 1885, Lester Ward described fossils he collected in 1881 and other specimens that had been taken from the Laramie formation in Golden in 1881 and 1882 for the U.S. Geological Survey. This is the short report he presented in a otherwise very lengthy analysis of the Laramie-aged flora.

The collections made at Golden, Colorado, have not proved particularly rich, and probably very little will be founding them that has not already been reported from that locality. Large palm leaves (Sabal Campbellii) and numerous fragments of leaves of Platanus, Ficus, etc. were found in a coarse friable sandstone, either ferruginous and light red, or siliceous and gray or white, in the valley between the Front Range and the basaltic Table Mountain on the east. These strata stand nearly vertical and are in immediate juxtaposition to the productive coal beds on the west. The coal mines themselves are worked in vertical beds which have Cretaceous strata on the west and these coarse sandstones on the east, showing that the direction from east to west represents the descent through the several layers and that the coal veins are at the very base of the Laramie at this place. The strata are conformable, and both the Cretaceous and the Laramie are tilted so as to be approximately vertical. At the base of South Table Mountain the strata are horizontal, and the line dividing the vertical from the horizontal strata could be detected at certain points. A measurement from this line to the base of the coal seam was made at one place and showed 1,700 feet of upturned edges of Laramie strata. It is probably that we here have the very base of the formation.

The geology of Golden is very complicated, but my observations led me to conclude that during the upheaval of the Front Range a break must have occurred along a line near the western base of Table Mountain, forming a crevice through which issued the matter that forms the basaltic cap of these hills. The eastern edge of a broad strip of land lying to the west of this break dropped down until the entire strip of land assumed a vertical position or was tilted somewhat beyond the perpendicular. This brought the Laramie on the east side of the Cretaceous with its upper strata at the extreme eastern, while the coal seam at its base occupied the extreme western side of the displaced rock. The degree of inversion varies slightly at different points and may have been much greater in some places. This will probably account for the discovery at one time of a certain Cretaceous shell (Mactra) above a vein of coal in a shaft about 4 miles north of Golden, and about which considerable has been said in discussing the age of the Laramie group. I visited the spot, but found the strata so covered by wash that I was unable to determine their nature.

The collections made at the base of South Table Mountain in a dark and very soft, fine-grained, siliceous-ferruginous sandstone, commonly called tufa, were both more abundant and better preserved than those from the valley, and in them have been found several rare and interesting forms. Ficus irregularis was one of the most common, and Berchemia multinervis was found. Palms abounded, but only as fragments of narrow portions of leaves. On the surface of the ground quite well down toward the bottom of the valley, were found numerous fragments of palm wood in the silicified state, as chert, very hard and admitting a high polish. The leaf scars are clearly exhibited, and the vascular bundles and ducts are beautifully shown in cross and longitudinal sections.

Ward went north to Greeley where he found
at the locality known as Girardot 's coal mine, some 5 miles east of Greeley, Colorado, on the open plains, Laramie strata were found containing characteristic mollusks in great abundance, but no plants except the wide-spread Halymenites major, which occurred in profusion immediately over the shell beds. Large branching forms were found, as well as forms variously curved and crooked. They seem to be to some extent concretionary, and are composed of iron oxide and sand with a little calcite.

Then he went to Platteville.
At the mouth of the Saint Vrain, near Platteville, where a day was spent, these forms occurred again in equal abundance and variety. Two species were found here, and perhaps three. Specimens of petrified wood from a large stump, probably coniferous, were collected, but no traces of any other form of plant life were detected. At this point we seem again to have the very base of the Laramie overlying a bluish Cretaceous clay.

From Platteville Ward followed the Laramie formation north into Wyoming and Montana.

The paper included sketches of some of the fossil leaves from Golden in the plates, but none of the palm fronds. The scientific names have undoubtedly been changed since 1885.

For the entire article -
Ward, Lester F., 1885, "Synopsis of the Flora of the Laramie Group," in USGS Report of the Geological Survey, Vol. VL, p. 537-538

Ficus irregularis, Lx. Golden, Colorado

Ficus spectabilis, Lx. Golden, Colorado Collected in November, 1881 by Mr. C. W. Cross For Mr. S. F. Emmons

Cornus Emmonsii, n. sp. Golden, Colorado; collected by Mr. S.F. Emmons, in July, 1882

Berchemia multinervis, Al.Br., Golden, Colorado

Coming summer events
By Pete Modresski

Here is an update of "coming events" of earth science & natural history activities and events taking place during the
summer.

August 5: Free public "Dinosaur Discovery Day" tours take place at Dinosaur Ridge, Morrison, on the first Saturday of each month, through October. See http://www.dinoridge.org for more information.

August 11, Free Map, Compass, and GPS class: the USGS offers these free classes for the public, the 2nd Friday of each month through November, at the Denver Federal Center, Lakewood CO, Building 810. Mornings (9-11) are Map & Compass, and afternoons (12-4) are GPS. To register please call 303-202-4689, or email gpsworkshops@usgs.gov to reserve a place; bring your GPS unit if you have one.

August 10-13, "Contin-Tail" Rock Swap and Mineral Show, Rodeo Grounds, Buena Vista, CO. A fun and interesting outdoor event to see or buy rocks, minerals, fossils, etc., and hob-nob with all the local (and traveling from out of state) rockhounds, and one or more field trips will be led to local areas. No admission charge. http://www.coloradorocks.org/

August 18-20, Lake George Gem & Mineral Show, sponsored by the Lake George Gem and Mineral Club. A nice weekend mineral show and rock swap, down in the heart of "amazonite and smoky quartz" country. One or more field trips will be led to local sites. For more information contact Richard Parsons at 303-838-8859 or tazaminerals@att.net.

September 15-17, Denver Gem and Mineral Show, an advance note for this, the second-largest gem and mineral show in the entire U.S. Sponsored by the Greater Denver Area Gem and Mineral Council (a non-profit association of ten local gem and mineral clubs), and held at the Denver Merchandise Mart, 1-25 at 58th Ave. For more information http://www.denvermineralshow.com/
And, the Colorado Mineral and Fossil Show is an independent, free, open-to-the-public mineral show held the same week in Denver, Sep. 13-17, at the Holiday Inn Denver Central, 4849 Bannock St. (just north of 1-70 and 1-25); see http://www.mzexpos.com/colorado_fall.htm

August 5 & 6,2006, Second Annual Critter Fest from 10 am to 4 pm. Shale splitting with the Florissant Fossil Quarry. Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center. For more information, visit www.rmdrc.com/events/critterfest or telephone 719-686-1820 xlll
 

Visitor Center Gift Shop
By Roger Bennett

This year continues to be a great year with no end in sight! It seems that about all Jack, Barbara, Brian, and I can do is to keep up with everything. Almost everyone who comes in the door has a blank look on their face and wants to know what this is all about.

So, by the end of the day we are pretty much talked out.

Anyone who may want to come out and tell people where the ridge is and they don't have to hike it but can drive their car and park at the different stops, is certainly welcome to come out and help.

The dig pit off the deck has been a real success and receives constant usage. The problem is keeping it covered.

A new wash-basin has been installed near the bathrooms with paper towels and soap, which is receiving heavy usage and highly appreciated.

There have been many positive comments from adults as well as the kids about how much they enjoy the gift shop. People also express how much they have enjoyed the ridge and all we have done up there.

We continue to search for new things so come visit us

Colorado Earthquakes
Submitted by Beth Simmons

After the San Francisco Earthquake, people trembled in fear of quakes, similar to the recent response to tsunamis after the Great TsunamL In the Weekly Courier from Fort Collins, we find this article carrying the byline of our esteemed Dinosaur Ridge hero, Arthur Lakes, an article written one hundred years ago. Lakes seems to have forgotten the great Colorado earthquake of 1884, however, he was trying to calm the panic that swept across the county.

WEEKLY COURIER, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6,1906, PAGE 6
LITTLE CHANCE OF COLORADO QUAKES
PROF. LAKES SHOWS WHY THIS STATE IS PRACTICALLY IMMUNE
In connection with the recent earthquakes in Sand Francisco, which some scientists ascribed to a movement connected with the elevation of the coast range, Prof. A. Lakes, a well-known Colorado geologist, wrote the following article, telling of the movement of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado:

If, as many geologists think, the recent earthquake in California was due to a paroxysmal movement connected with the gradual elevation of the young Coast range and the adjacent coast region, it may be of interest to consider what evidences we have of such movements in our own Rocky mountain region in Colorado, both past and comparatively recent. In the first place we have as an object lesson in elevation the mountains themselves as viewed from the plains at Denver and elsewhere. The rocks composing those mountains were as certainly once deep below the sea as they are now certainly above it. Absolute proof of this is the presence of limestones containing fossil sea shells raised to and forming the summits of our highest peaks, as for instance, Mount Lincoln, South Park, now 14,000 feet above the sea level, and these shellfish may have lived in waters several thousand feet below the sea level. So it is safe to say that our ountains represent an elevation of at lest 20,000 feet.

This elevation was not accomplished in a day or by any violent uplift, but by so gradual a process that no more perceptible movement occurred than is felt or recognized in these movements may at time have been accentuated by paroxysmal slips and faulting, accompanied by earthquakes like that in California recently. The natural elevating movement is that of a slow bending up of the mountain ranges into an arch or series of arches. When these arches reach their extreme state of tension the rock and the arch break and a slip takes place, called by geologists a fault. Probably when the first fracture or slip takes place a violent earthquake may result on the surface, but subsequently the slipping may be exceedingly gradual, though at times perhaps also accentuated and possibly also giving rise to earth shocks or earthquakes.

Colorado Mountains Show Volcanic Formation
In some of our mountain ranges like the Mosquito range, between South park and Leadville and the Arkansas valley, we can see all the stages from folding into steep arches to abrupt faulting. The Mosquito range is composed of the same set of strata as the South park lying at its feet. It was formed by the folding up of the west strata of the park into a range of mountains. The movement as you approach the range is first indicated by a gentle swell, soon followed by a steep and symmetrical arch, as shown on Sheep mountain, in Four Mile canon,, and in Sacramento and other gulches. This arch, accompanied by several parallel arches west of it, on reaching
the limit of their tension broke and the strata on one side or both slipped, resulting in the series of great parallel faults which traverse the Mosquito range from north to south, and over whose eroded blocks you descend as by cyclopean steps into the Leadville region and the valley of the Arkansas.

The amount of slip in these lands is to be estimated not by hundreds but by thousands of feet. When we examine the walls of the fissure formed by these faults we find them polished by the slipping motion and ground or strated by sharp points or irregularities in the opposing walls. Rocks adjacent to the fault or within its fissure are crushed or brecciated; sometimes ground to a fine powder, in the case of quartz, like commercial salt; in the case of feldspar reduced by solution to a gouge or clay. Everything goes to show movement accompanied by more or less crushing, but there is rarely anything to prove whether or not this movement was sudden or violent, though it may have been so at times. The more recent evidences of faulting are shown in abrupt cliffs or benches which erosion has not yet reduced to base level. Such fault-scarps are more common in arid climates like those of Nevada than in regions of greater rainfall and consequently greater erosion.

Mighty Movements May Still Be in Progress
These mighty fault movements, which began in the far past, may still be in progress, though we are little aware of it, and the mountain may still be rising. In some of our mines, like those at Aspen, the movement of the mountain along a fault plane is so great that no amount of timbering can keep pace with it, and stulls two feet in diameter are broker like reeds and their ends broomed up like masses of tow. In other mines in the same region it is impossible to keep shafts plumb or the openings in the drifts symmetrical in shape. Landslides are in constant progress on steep Aspen mountain and evidence shows this has gone on far into the past. The same occur at Telluride in the San Juan; great cracks are there opened along the hillsides and in some cases the movement is so recent that trees growing along the line of slip are split from their roots up.

Among the many evidences of comparatively recent elevation of the mountains is that of the lake beds in the Arkansas valley that were formed and laid down after the glaciers. The conglomerate beds in these are found elevated upwards of 10 degrees. That we are not troubled by paroxysmal movements and shocks as in California may be due to the fact that these mountains are older than the young Coast range and these upward movements are in consequence less severe and violent. The absence also of such a chain of comparatively recent volcanoes as those that are dotted along the Pacific coast-line may be yet another factor of earthquake immunity.