- Red Rocks Park
Infobox_nrhp | name =Red Rocks Park District
nrhp_type =
caption =Red Rocks Area
location=Morrison, Colorado
area =
built =1928
architect= Hoyt,Burnham; Rosche,W. R.
architecture= Pueblo
added =May 18 ,1990
governing_body = Local
mpsub=Denver Mountain Parks MPS
refnum=90000725 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2006-03-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]Red Rocks Park is a mountain park in
Jefferson County, Colorado , owned and maintained by the city ofDenver as part of theDenver Mountain Parks system. The park is known for its very large red sandstone boulders. Many of these formations within the park have names, from the mushroom-shaped Seat of Pluto to the inclined Cave of the Seven Ladders. The most visited rocks, around the amphitheatre, are Creation Rock to the north, Ship Rock to the south, and Stage Rock to the east.The red sandstone found throughout Red Rocks Park is geologically identified as belonging to the
Fountain Formation . [cite web |author=Dick Gibson |title=Geology of Boulder Flatirons - The Fountain Formation |url=http://www.gravmag.com/fountain.html] OtherColorado examples of Fountain Formation geology include nearbyRoxborough State Park ,Garden of the Gods nearColorado Springs and theFlatirons near Boulder. The rocks were formed about 290-296 million years ago when theAncestral Rocky Mountains were eroded during the Pennsylvanian epoch. Later, uplift during theLaramide orogeny tilted the rocks to the angle at which they sit today.The park was in times far past a favored campsite of the
Ute tribe. Its earliest known name was the Garden of the Angels, reputedly given to it onJuly 4 ,1870 by Martin Van Buren Luther, a pioneer Colorado judge. It was renamed Garden of the Titans in 1906 by famed editorJohn Brisben Walker when he purchased the place with proceeds from his sale of "Cosmopolitan Magazine ". Known however by the folk name of "Red Rocks" since the area was settled, it was formally given that name whenDenver acquired it in 1928.Within the park boundaries is the
Red Rocks Amphitheatre , a world famous venue used for over a century, which hosts many concerts and other events. Red Rocks Park was also the site of the Start and Finish line ofThe Amazing Race 9 which aired in the spring of 2006.Gallery
ee also
*
Willowbrook Amphitheatre
*List of contemporary amphitheatres
*Under a Blood Red Sky
*Alive at Red Rocks References
External links
* [http://www.redrocksonline.com/ Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre]
* [http://www.denvergov.org/Mountain_Parks/template2358.asp Denver Mountain Parks - Red Rocks]
* [http://historicredrocks.org Historic Red Rocks]
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