Flatirons
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The Flatirons are rock formations near Boulder, Colorado. There are five large, numbered Flatirons ranging from north to south along Green and Dinosaur mountains, and numerous smaller named Flatirons among the surrounding foothills. They are popular destinations for hikers and rock climbers, with rock grades ranging from easy (5.0) to world-class (5.14).
The Flatirons consist of conglomerate sandstone of the Fountain Formation. The conglomerate sandstone solidified from deposits of gravel and sand deposited at the base of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains in alluvial fans. The sandstones that make up the Flatirons were lifted to their current orientation during the Laramide orogeny, a geological uplift that formed the current Rocky Mountains. The Flatirons were subsequently exposed by erosion. Similar rock formations can be found in many places along the Colorado Front Range, including Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre, near Morrison.
During the 1960's, students from the University of Colorado climbed the third Flatiron on Green Mountain and wrote "CU" in giant white letters on it for all of Boulder to see. After a time, the city painted over the graffiti with paint a color very similar to the rock. If you look closely, you can still see the show of school spirit on the giant rock.
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[edit] External links
- http://www.gravmag.com/fountain.html - Geology of the Boulder Flatirons
