Sunrise over Colorado National Monument reveals a magnificent landscape of canyon and monolith adorned with sagebrush, juniper, and wildflower. Bighorn sheep graze lazily around rock and boulder. Collared lizards bask in the warming sun. The scene implies a sense of unchanging ruggedness. However, when viewed through the lens of geologic and human time, these landscapes and the natural environment they support have undergone dramatic changes.

This home of vistas and unique hanging canyons invites further exploration. A visit to Colorado National Monument offers
natural and cultural discoveries, whether it's the scenic route of Rim Rock Drive, or hiking on trails that travel within the canyon depths or along soaring cliff heights. Nature displays its delicate balance on a small scale with antlion versus prey, on a large scale with water sculpting rock. Strolls along canyon rims reveal sweeping panoramas. Narrow canyons instill a sense of quiet and solitude. Close observation reveals the beginning of new generations of red spotted toads along the banks of ephemeral pools where precious water flows through eroded cuts created over thousands of years.

During that time, native people traveled across the western United States, including the area that is now Colorado National Monument. Bands of the Ute people and their ancestors moved with the seasons, spending the summers in the mountains and the winters in the lower elevation valleys. Each place they stopped was home. Within this vast homeland, the canyons and mesas of Colorado National Monument were sacred places. This landscape also provided safety from hostile tribes or early explorers. Fresh clear waters from the many seeps and springs would have been a welcome change from the muddy Colorado River. Due to their migratory culture, they left a light touch on the land. Today, a careful observer might see a petroglyph left by a Native artist, or perhaps everyday items used by family members as they moved through the area. These might include an arrowhead for hunting or a matate and mono for grinding seeds. These precious resources deserve respect.

As others have done before you, please leave them exactly as you found them. The U.S government forcibly removed the Ute people from the Grand Valley in 1881 to the Uintah and Ouray Reservation near Fort Duchesne, Utah. While today many of the Ute people live on reservations in the western United States, their relationship to the land is still evident through place names such as the states of Colorado and Utah, geologic designations such as the Uncompahgre Plateau and the Uinta Basin, as well as communities such as the town of Ouray. The Ute people have maintained a deep cultural
connection to their original Homeland including Colorado National Monument.

In addition to Native cultures, the historic time period featured Spanish explorers, fur trappers, and miners. The historic sites that remain within the Monument include cattle and sheep herder camps as well as homesteads of early Euro-American pioneers. John Otto felt this call of the sacred when he arrived in the Grand Valley of Western Colorado in 1906. John recognized the grandeur of a landscape he called "the heart of the world." He saw beauty of the canyon, considered by some as nothing more than a place to winter cattle. John diligently worked to open trails into what was then known as Monument Canyon and proposed setting it aside as a national park. Otto worked tirelessly to convince local representatives, newspapers, and the Chamber of Commerce to champion the cause. John humorously proposed calling the new monument "Smith National Park" - it seemed a great public relations idea to him, as there were so many Smiths living in the United States, and they would all want to visit. Instead, the spectacular canyons west of the Grand Valley were named Colorado National Monument in the 1911 proclamation signed by President Taft.

Evidence of John's trail building efforts survived the test of time, and those who venture into the beautiful backcountry hike in the footsteps of this remarkable man. But the story of these canyons and monoliths begins long before John Otto and is nearly as old as the earth itself.

Winds, water, and migrating continents created this geological masterpiece over millions of years. It began nearly 2 billion years ago, as the foundation of the monument - the dark and distinctive Precambrian rock at the base of the towering cliffs - formed through millennia of mountain uplift and relentless erosion. Through these eons, what is now North America
slowly moved above the equator. Three-hundred and ten million years ago, its collision with other land masses formed the Ancestral Rockies. Over the next 80 million years, these mountain ranges shed sediment into nearby basins, erasing millions of years of geologic history and exposing the Precambrian rock. This piece of missing history, known as an
unconformity, offers a puzzle solved by learning to read the rocks. 

Later, layer after layer of sedimentary material formed as the continent drifted further north, changing environmental conditions.This continual movement is evidenced by the changing character of the rock formations. Streams and floodplains created the Chinle Formation, the oldest of these sedimentary layers, when this area was still close to the equator. The dark red mudstone stands in contrast to the craggier Precambrian layer below. Its color indicates oxidation due to a warm, moist climate. Visible root traces show where a profusion of ancient plant life once flourished. The continent moved further north into an arid location where desert wind deposits formed the tall cliffs of the Wingate Sandstone.

During the Early Jurassic Period, North America moved further north. The climate became wetter, and shallow braided streams reworked the upper layers of the Wingate sand dunes to create the Kayenta Formation. This hard, tough layer was responsible for the formation of the fascinating spires of Colorado National Monument by protecting the soft, underlying rocks from erosion. Later, dry arid periods saw the development of the Entrada Sandstone, with its salmon pink color, and the narrow caprock of the Wanakah Formation. Variations of color and striations in the Entrada indicate how dunes shifted due to prevailing winds. Moister interdune sections indicate a higher water table.

During the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous Periods, the continent moved northward into a more temperate climate. This move brought more rain, streams, floodplains, and shallow ponds, leaving sedimentary deposits that became the rock layers of the Morrison and Burro Canyon Formations. These layers are most widely known for the many prehistoric treasures they hold, including a wide variety of dinosaur fossils and tracks. Later in the Cretaceous Period, a shallow sea invaded this region, depositing the Dakota Formation along its shorelines. Above this, the deepening marine invasion left behind the Mancos Shale that underlies the Grand Valley from the river up to the sandstone Book Cliffs. The layer remains nearly 5,000 feet thick where it has not been eroded. These millions of years of continental drift and deposition of rock layers topping the Precambrian Rock set the stage for the forces that would ultimately sculpt the Monument's unforgettable landscape: uplift and water. 

The same mountain building episode that created the Rocky Mountains some 40 to 70 million years ago pushed up the Uncompahgre Plateau, with Colorado National Monument at its northern edge. The 1500-foot uplift of the plateau resulted in the Redlands Fault. This fault dramatically split rocks where the displacement was greatest, and left gentle slopes elsewhere. This uplift set the stage for the next player: running water.

The Colorado River cut through the sedimentary layers north of the Monument, its raging currents moving gravel, rocks, and even boulders. The water carved deeply into the soft Mancos Shale. Eventually, the rocks of Colorado National Monument were left high above the river valley. Small streams chiseled through the massive rocks, creating the spectacular canyons and monoliths of the Monument that enthrall a viewer with a snapshot of time unfolding: Millions of years of geology written on the towering canyon walls. Today, running water is absent for most of the year, with flash flood events driving erosion in the valleys. Rocks tell the Monument's geological story, but a few living survivors bear witness to the past one thousand years. If only these trees could talk.

The Colorado Plateau holds some of the last ancient stands of Pinyon-Juniper forests. Scientists say some of the juniper trees here are a thousand years old, living through 25 generations of human history. Pinyon pines also live impressive lifespans, with some as much as 600 years old. Native tribes of the West used these trees. They ate the pine nuts and used their branches, twigs, and bark for sandals, cradles, medicine, and spiritual ceremonies.

Within this forest, a complex system of life thrives. The biological soil crust provides nutrients and a moisture sponge for new plants, while raptors soar overhead. Groundwater seeps slowly through sandstone, emerging to create an environment for plants not often seen in the high desert. In a landscape extremely scarce in water, these springs and seeps support not only the unique plant communities but also wildlife that rely on the vegetation and water sources. Each plant, animal, bird, and insect is part of a complex tapestry. Remove one strand or change one cycle, and the forest is in peril.

Early advocates like John Otto sought protection for the canyons but also explored ways to provide access into the newly formed Monument. Starting at the East Entrance, Glade Park ranchers and Grand Valley residents worked to build a road they named Serpents Trail. However, travel on this steep road with its 52 switchbacks was not for the faint of heart. Early automobiles depended on gravity to feed gas into the engine, but parts of the trail were so steep, the fuel couldn't get to the motor. The solution was to back up, turn around, and go in reverse. Serpents Tail soon became known as the most
dangerous road in Colorado. Rim Rock Drive would eventually take its place. Serpents Trail became a popular hike for people to enjoy breathtaking views of No Thoroughfare Canyon and the Grand Valley. But even Rim Rock Drive had a rocky start, suffering a lack of progress until the onset of the Great Depression.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal jump-started the construction with programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration. By the early 1930s, large camps housed hundreds of impoverished young men from across the nation. Their food, clothing, and housing was provided. They were paid a dollar a day. The Works Progress Administration relied on local experienced men, or LEMs, to provide expertise. Though full credit is often given only to the Civilian Conservation Corps, it was a successful collaboration. By 1950, the Grand Valley finally realized its dream of a canyon rim road. Workers had masterfully created a breathtaking new opportunity to see Colorado National Monument. 

Whether stopping at overlooks on Rim Rock Drive or hiking a trail in John Otto's footsteps, this land provides opportunity for enjoyment and inspiration. Just as they did when the Ute people were in the canyons and along the mesas, raptors still soar overhead and colorful lizards bask in the sun. Desert bighorn sheep thrive and navigate the precarious cliffsides with ease. A sense of solitude and peace fills the air from the sun-drenched days of July to the snow sprinkled canyons of December, inspiring most to return again and again.

Unique in the world, Colorado National Monument ranks among its greatest landscapes. This resource beyond value preserves the ancient history of humans, flora, fauna, and earth. Wind and water are still patiently carving out time here. Otto once said, "The truth is in the rocks." He had no way of knowing just how right he was. He wasn't the first to be inspired to action, and he cannot be the last. As long as it's protected, these ancient rocks will bear witness to traditions old and new, songs of the past, the value of wild places, timeless beauty, and memories made by future generations.