The Geologic Story of the Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado
Lee WT. 1917. The Geologic Story of the Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado. Washington D.C.
On January 26, 1915, a particular section of the Rocky Mountains chosen as representative of the noblest qualities of the mountain region was set aside as the Rocky Mountain National Park. This park covers an area of approximately 398 square miles, situated in the high mountains of the Front Range in north-central Colorado, about 50 miles in a straight hne northwest of Denver. Altitudes within it range from 8,000 to 14,255 feet above sea level. The mouintains are of such height that during the greater part of each year they are spangled or completely covered with snow. Hence the Front Range is often called the Snowy Range. Denver, the metropolis of the western plains, through which most of the visitors pass on their way to the Rocky Mountain National Park, is only 50 miles from Estes Park, the gateway. The park is within 30 hours of Chicago and St. Louis and is much closer to Kansas City and many other great centers of population in the central part of the United States. Probably no other national playground is more easily reached by a large nunber of people. The appeal of this park to the tourist is varied, and few fail to find satisfaction here. In it are accommodations for visitors of every kind, from the man who wants the conveniences of the modern hotel to the one who wishes to throw off restraint and to Hve for a time the care-free life. Here he may bivouac by rock and stream in the primeval forest or obtain the comforts of modern Ufe in easy reach of perpetual ice, where cool breezes from the snow fields render delightful the bright summer days and make welcome the warmth of the camp fire on the clear, cool evenings. The naturalist may find plant and animal life of all zones, from Temperate to Arctic. The artist has an inexhaustible supply of landscapes, ranging in character from mountain crag to flowery glade. The weary in mind or body find new vigor, while the vigorous have inexhaustible opportunities of testing their endurance.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Lee, Willis
- Date of Issue
- 1917
- Units
- HIST , ROMO
- Keywords
- Colorado, ehistory, Geology, Glaciers, History, Orogeny