Red Rocks valley

Red Rocks valley

United States
Colorado
Red Rocks valley

Leaving the city of Denver and just before entering the great Nevada desert, big rocky geological fomations of extreme red colour strike visitors attention and mark the borders of the very spectacular Red Rocks valley. What is now red rock was originally mud and sand that were deposited during a 50 million year time period that began 300 million years ago.During that time the area was a plaine next to a shallow sea. When sea level rose layers of mud accumulated and later, through the ages, as sea level fell back wind,sand and dunes covered the area and even much later on all of the sediment lithified to hard rock. The intense red colour is caused by a thin layer of iron oxide. The area is very picturesque, very much visited by tourists and famous music teams gave performances ther under the moonlight.

In the photo the borders of the Nevada desert with the beginning of the rock formations and in the far end the city of Denver.