Garden of the Gods is one of my favorite places to drive in Colorado. The first picture of the set is my car with Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak in the back ground.
I live not far from Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It's a beautiful region with sedimentary beds of colored sandstones, conglomerates and limestone. They were deposited horizontally, that is no longer the case as they reach into the sky vertically.
Evidence of past aions; ancient seas, eroded ruminants of ancestral mountain ranges, alluvial fans, sandy beaches and great sand dune fields can be read in the rocks. But I just like it because it makes the rocks look like BACON!
I kid.
Here is a cross section of the park I drew for a college course. It shows how the different layers of rock bend towards the sky under Colorado Springs and form Garden of the Gods.
A spectacular shear fault can be observed where the Tower of Babel in the Lyons Sandstone where it contacts the Fountain Formation. Hmm Picture is missing I will go retake it and add it later.
The hogbacks, so named because they resemble the backs and spines of a pig, are ridges of sandstone whose layers are tilted. Instead of lying horizontally, some layers are even vertically oriented as mentioned above.
The Hogback says Oink Oink
Some hogbacks are several hundred feet long, and the tallest (North Gateway Rock) rises to a height of 320 feet. A notable rock feature on this hogback is Kissing Camels, it appears to be two very large camels sitting face to face with their lips touching it is also one of the most popular rock climbing spots in the city.
There are many fossils to be seen: marine forms, plant fossils, and some dinosaur fossils. But there is no such thing as Obsidian in Garden of the Gods:
On one occasion during the nineteenth century, Dr. George Frederick Kunz, vice-president of and "gem expert" of Tiffany & Co., wrote about a “specimen of obsidian” he was shown from the Garden of the Gods in Colorado. “A friend recently made a trip through parts of Colorado, and knowing our desire to obtain materials suitable for cutting into gems, he purchased at a pavilion, near the gateway of the Garden of the Gods, a specimen of what the dealer called “obsidian.” It was carefully packed and carried thousands of miles, and was handed to us with the ceremony befitting an elegant gift. We received it with much delight, and after removing yards of tissue paper, held it before a lamp light, and saw a transparent mass of about 4x4" of pure bottle green- glass.”
-Kunz, George Frederick. The Mineral Collector. Volume II, number 6, August 1895, page 97.
This does not mean you might not find obsidian shards or objects int he park. It is possible from an anthropological point of view that you may find man made objects transported into the park. Particularly but Native Americans. I would just be wary of buying any Colorado obsidian on the internet found in Garden of the Gods.
Trivia:
The name Colorado is said to come from the color of the red sandstone.
The name of the park dates back to August 1859 when two surveyors helping to set up nearby Colorado City were exploring the nearby areas. Upon discovering the site, one of the surveyors, M. S. Beach, suggested that it would be a "capital place for a beer garden." His companion, the young Rufus Cable, awestruck by the impressive rock formations, exclaimed, "Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods." The beer garden never materialized, but the name stuck.
In 2006 a dinosaur species discovered there, was named after the park: Theiophytalia kerri.
- Garden Of The Gods | Education | Park History http://www.gardenofgods.com/education/index_175.cfm
All Pictures Copyrighted Mehner Photo Illustrations and are the expressed property of Fred Mehner III
Next time you go to Garden of the Gods or visit it from out of state have a beer and remember you can learn a lot about the world while enjoying a cold brew.
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