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USA: Colorado favorites

76 images Created 28 May 2015

Favorite photos from the state of Colorado by Tom Dempsey include:
- Colorado National Monument
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

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  • Sunset shines on Chimney Rock (11,781 ft) and Courthouse Mountain (12,152 ft), in the San Juan Mountains, near Ridgway, Colorado, USA. Yellow aspen fall colors were peaking on October 3, 2019. Drive up to Owl Creek Pass at 10,114 feet on the steep Owl Creek-Cimarron Road, an old cattle-drive trail winding through Uncompahgre National Forest.
    1909US1-5142.jpg
  • Along the drive to Blue Lakes Trailhead on County Road 7, see bright fall foliage colors beneath Mt Sneffels in Uncompahgre National Forest, San Juan Mountains, out of Ridgway, Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-5198.jpg
  • The Maroon Bells and yellow aspen leaves reflect in Maroon Lake at sunrise. The Maroon Bells are two adjacent peaks of the Elk Mountains: Maroon Peak 14,163 feet on left, seen behind North Maroon Peak 14,019 feet, in Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest. The mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County, about 12 miles southwest of Aspen, in Colorado, USA.
    1709US2-076_Maroon-Lake_CO.jpg
  • White capped hoodoos with yellow base. Paint Mines Interpretive Park is run by El Paso County, near Calhan, Colorado. Its colorful sediments outwashed from the Rockies 55 million years ago. The Paint Mines are named for their colorful clays that were collected by American Indians to make paint. Oxidized iron compounds cause brightly colored bands in various layers of clay. When outcrops erode, a hard capstone allows columns of clay to be preserved beneath, creating fantastic spires called hoodoos. Selenite (gypsum) contributes to the color, and white quartzitic crystals dazzle the eye.
    1709US1-2051_Paint-Mines_CO.jpg
  • Collared Lizard (genus Crotaphytus) in Monument Canyon in Colorado National Monument, near Grand Junction and Fruita, Colorado, USA.
    1503SW-2011_Collared-Lizard_Crotaphy...jpg
  • Upper Ice Lake glows with stunningly bright turquoise and green-blue colors, unique in my experience. I hiked Ice Lakes Basin as a memorable loop (8.9 miles with 3120 feet gain) from USFS South Mineral Campground to Lower and Upper Ice Lakes, then up to Fuller Lake, and back via Island Lake, near Silverton, Colorado, USA. Or, to Upper Ice Lake alone is 7.4 miles round trip with 2400 ft gain. Silverton, San Juan Mountains, San Juan National Forest, Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-4276-80-Pano.jpg
  • Rock pattern on Longs Peak seen from Chasm Lake Trail, in Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, Estes Park, Colorado, USA. Hike 8.5 miles round trip with 2500 feet gain to Chasm Lake. Longs Peak is in the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.
    2108CO-60.jpg
  • In morning light, dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-2663.jpg
  • Golden sunrise light illuminates pegmatite intrusions of the Painted Wall seen from Dragon Point, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, near Montrose, Colorado, USA. Pressurized molten rock was forced into 1.7-billion-year-old metamorphic rock, forming pink pegmatite stripes on Colorado's highest cliffs. With two million years to work, the Gunnison River and weathering have sculpted a vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky.
    1503SW-1786_The-Painted-Wall.jpg
  • Longs Peak (14,259 feet) rises above Roaring Fork Creek, which is Chasm Lake's outlet, in Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, near Estes Park, Colorado, USA. Hike 8.5 miles round trip with 2500 feet gain to Chasm Lake. Longs Peak is in the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Multiple overlapping photos were stitched to make this panorama.
    2108CO-37-38-Pano.jpg
  • Hanging Lake, along East Fork Dead Horse Creek in Glenwood Canyon, White River National Forest, Colorado, USA. From the trailhead 7 miles east of Glenwood Springs along Interstate 70, follow the Glenwood Canyon Bike and Pedestrian Path east then ascend Dead Horse Creek (a tributary of the Colorado River), for 4 miles round trip gaining 1200 feet, including the nice side trip to Spouting Rock falls. Dissolved carbonate minerals color its water turquoise. The fragile shoreline is travertine, created when dissolved limestone from the Mississippian Period Leadville Formation is deposited in layers on rocks and logs. The shallow bed of Hanging Lake formed on a fault line where the valley floor above sheared and dropped.
    1709US1-0078_Hanging-Lake_CO.jpg
  • Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America, was built 1190-1260 CE by Ancestral Puebloans on Chapin Mesa, in what is now Mesa Verde National Park, in Colorado, Southwestern USA. Cliff Palace was rediscovered in 1888 by Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason while looking for stray cattle. Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Montezuma County. The park was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 near the Four Corners region. Starting around 7500 BCE, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa's first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 1100s began building massive cliff dwellings. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south into what is today Arizona and New Mexico. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-3066-68-Pano.jpg
  • Paint Mines Interpretive Park is run by El Paso County, near Calhan, Colorado. Its colorful sediments outwashed from the Rockies 55 million years ago. The Paint Mines are named for their colorful clays that were collected by American Indians to make paint. Oxidized iron compounds cause brightly colored bands in various layers of clay. When outcrops erode, a hard capstone allows columns of clay to be preserved beneath, creating fantastic spires called hoodoos. Selenite (gypsum) contributes to the color, and white quartzitic crystals dazzle the eye. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1709US1-2084-86-Pano_Paint-Mines_CO.jpg
  • Entrance sign. Dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-2403-05-Pano.jpg
  • Paint Mines Interpretive Park is run by El Paso County, near Calhan, Colorado. Its colorful sediments outwashed from the Rockies 55 million years ago. The Paint Mines are named for their colorful clays that were collected by American Indians to make paint. Oxidized iron compounds cause brightly colored bands in various layers of clay. When outcrops erode, a hard capstone allows columns of clay to be preserved beneath, creating fantastic spires called hoodoos. Selenite (gypsum) contributes to the color, and white quartzitic crystals dazzle the eye.
    1709US1-2079_Paint-Mines_CO.jpg
  • Sun patterns penetrate a log building. Ashcroft ghost town was a short-lived 1880s silver mining settlement, ten miles south of Aspen, in White River National Forest, Colorado, USA. Shallow silver deposits, high transportation costs, and competition from richer lower-elevation mines in Aspen caused Ashcroft's 1880 mining boom to go bust by 1883. The silver market crash of 1893 ultimately destroyed the town's prospects. Its peak population of 2000+ plummeted to 100 by 1895. Today more people visit Ashcroft each summer than ever lived here. Founded at 9500 feet elevation, Ashcroft was originally called Castle Forks City, then Chloride until 1882. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1709US2-368-379-Pano-Edit_Ashcroft_C...jpg
  • Long House, built 1150-1300 CE on Wetherill Mesa. Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Montezuma County, Colorado, USA. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States. It was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 near the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. Starting around 7500 BCE, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa's first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 1100s began building massive cliff dwellings. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south into what is today Arizona and New Mexico. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-3394-3400-Pano.jpg
  • Island Lake in the San Juan Mountains, near Silverton, Colorado, USA. I hiked Ice Lakes Basin as a memorable loop (8.9 miles with 3120 feet gain) from USFS South Mineral Campground to Lower and Upper Ice Lakes, then up to Fuller Lake, and back via Island Lake, near Silverton, Colorado, USA. Or, to Upper Ice Lake alone is 7.4 miles round trip with 2400 ft gain. San Juan National Forest. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-4659-63-Pano.jpg
  • Red Mountain, Hayden Mountain, and golden aspens reflect in Crystal Lake on a sunny morning in Uncompahgre National Forest, San Juan Mountains, south of Ouray, Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-4781-83-Pano.jpg
  • Painted Wall View, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, near Montrose, Colorado, USA. Pressurized molten rock was forced into 1.7-billion-year-old metamorphic rock, forming pink pegmatite stripes on Colorado's highest cliffs. With two million years to work, the Gunnison River and weathering have sculpted a vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky. This panorama was stitched from 11 overlapping photos.
    1503SW-1852-62pan_The-Painted-Wall.jpg
  • Sunburst through aspen in Maroon Bells Wilderness. Hike Maroon-Snowmass Trail #1975 from Maroon Lake to Buckskin Pass (11 miles round trip gaining 3000 feet) in Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest, near Aspen, Colorado, USA. The Maroon Bells are two adjacent peaks of the Elk Mountains: Maroon Peak 14,163 feet on left, seen behind North Maroon Peak 14,019 feet. The mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County.
    1709US1-0563.jpg
  • Balanced Rock. Garden of the Gods National Natural Landmark is run by the City of Colorado Springs in Colorado, USA. The park's outstanding geologic features of are ancient sedimentary beds of red, pink and white sandstones, conglomerates and limestone that were deposited horizontally, but have now been tilted vertically and faulted into fins by forces during uplift of the Rocky Mountains and Pikes Peak massif.
    1709US1-1765.jpg
  • Dallas Peak rises above Lower Blue Lake, in Mt Sneffels Wilderness, Uncompahgre National Forest, San Juan Mountains, near Ridgway, Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-5311-26-Pano.jpg
  • Bluebird on a branch. Roxborough State Park features strikingly tilted red sandstone formations in Colorado, USA. We hike up the pleasant Carpenter Peak Trail and back via Elk Valley loop and Fountain Overlook, 8.5 miles with 1600 feet gain. A shorter walk is to the Peak then directly back (6.2 miles and 1400 ft). Roxborough State Park is in Douglas County 25 miles south of Denver, Colorado, USA. Honored as a National Natural Landmark, Roxborough State Park features the spectacularly tilted sandstone of the Fountain Formation, laid down over 300 million years ago with the gradual erosion of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. After millions of years of uplift and erosion, these red sandstones stand dramatically at a sixty degree angle. Also exposed is geology from the Precambrian to Late Mesozoic, including hogbacks of Cretaceous, Permian, and Pennsylvanian age. Erosion of steeply dipping monoclinal sedimentary sections has resulted in the series of three major hogbacks and strike valleys, exposing scenic dipping plates, spires and monoliths. Precambrian gneiss and biotite-muscovite granite are exposed on Carpenter Peak. The park is also a State Historic Site and National Cultural District, due to archaeological sites.
    1709US1-1701.jpg
  • Roxborough State Park features strikingly tilted red sandstone formations in Colorado, USA. We hike up the pleasant Carpenter Peak Trail and back via Elk Valley loop and Fountain Overlook, 8.5 miles with 1600 feet gain. A shorter walk is to the Peak then directly back (6.2 miles and 1400 ft). Roxborough State Park is in Douglas County 25 miles south of Denver, Colorado, USA. Honored as a National Natural Landmark, Roxborough State Park features the spectacularly tilted sandstone of the Fountain Formation, laid down over 300 million years ago with the gradual erosion of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. After millions of years of uplift and erosion, these red sandstones stand dramatically at a sixty degree angle. Also exposed is geology from the Precambrian to Late Mesozoic, including hogbacks of Cretaceous, Permian, and Pennsylvanian age. Erosion of steeply dipping monoclinal sedimentary sections has resulted in the series of three major hogbacks and strike valleys, exposing scenic dipping plates, spires and monoliths. Precambrian gneiss and biotite-muscovite granite are exposed on Carpenter Peak. The park is also a State Historic Site and National Cultural District, due to archaeological sites.
    1709US1-1693.jpg
  • This Pine Squirrel, also known as a Chickaree (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), chattered loudly while eating a cone. Sunshine Campground, Uncompahgre National Forest, near Telluride, Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-5784.jpg
  • Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Hike a classic loop from Bear Lake Trailhead with spur trails to many beautiful lakes, waterfalls and peaks; a scenic circuit of well-graded paths leads 6-13 miles with 1500-2600 feet gain. We enjoyed looping counterclockwise from Bear Lake Trailhead covering 13 miles via Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, Lake Haiyaha, The Loch, Timberline Falls, Lake of Glass, Sky Pond, Alberta Falls then back. Arrive early for parking or take the shuttle.
    1709US1-1539.jpg
  • The Maroon Bells reflect in Crater Lake. The Maroon Bells are two adjacent peaks of the Elk Mountains: Maroon Peak 14,163 feet on left, seen behind North Maroon Peak 14,019 feet, in Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest. The mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County, 12 miles southwest of Aspen, in Colorado, USA.
    1709US1-0318-p1.jpg
  • Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis) in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA.
    1709US1-1304.jpg
  • Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Hike a classic loop from Bear Lake Trailhead with spur trails to many beautiful lakes, waterfalls and peaks on well-graded paths 6-13 miles with 1500-2600 feet gain. We enjoyed looping counterclockwise from Bear Lake Trailhead 13 miles via Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, Lake Haiyaha, The Loch, Timberline Falls, Lake of Glass, Sky Pond, Alberta Falls then back. Arrive early for parking or take the shuttle. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1709US1-1417-28-Pano.jpg
  • Orange sunrise illuminates clouds over South Rim Campground in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, near Montrose, Colorado, USA. The canyon exposes you to some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America. With two million years to work, the Gunnison River, along with the forces of weathering, has sculpted this vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky.
    1503SW-1690_orange-sunrise.jpg
  • Pine tree panorama at The Loch. Hike a classic loop from Bear Lake Trailhead with spur trails to many beautiful lakes, waterfalls and peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Walk a scenic circuit of well-graded paths 6-13 miles with 1500-2600 feet gain. We enjoyed looping counterclockwise from Bear Lake Trailhead 13 miles via Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, Lake Haiyaha, The Loch, Timberline Falls, Lake of Glass, Sky Pond, Alberta Falls then back. Arrive early for parking or take the shuttle. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1709US1-1275-90-Pano-Edit.jpg
  • Historic late-1800s log cabin. Independence has been a ghost town since about 1899, when trains came into Aspen and the gold played out. Supposedly founded on Independence Day July 4, 1879 when gold was discovered, Independence was the first community in the Roaring Fork River Valley, a tributary of the Colorado River. Independence lies in a harsh environment at 10,830 feet elevation, 13.5 miles east of Aspen on Highway 82, and four miles west of Independence Pass on the Continental Divide, in Pitkin County, Colorado, USA. The remaining buildings are on land near the river owned by the Loughren Trust, and the upper site is in White River National Forest. In its short life, few could agree on a name for Independence, which was also known as Farwell, Chipeta City, Sparkill, Mammoth Mountain, Mount Hope, and Hunter's Pass. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1709US1-0679-80-Pano_Independence_CO.jpg
  • Sunburst over yellow aspen in Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest, near Aspen, Colorado, USA. The Maroon Bells are two adjacent peaks of the Elk Mountains: Maroon Peak 14,163 feet on left, seen behind North Maroon Peak 14,019 feet. The mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County.
    1709US1-0571-73-Edit.jpg
  • Ruins of Idarado Mine, north of Red Mountain Pass along the Million Dollar Highway, in Colorado, USA. Winding through the San Juan Mountains, the Million Dollar Highway is the scenic 25 miles of US Route 550 between Silverton and Ouray. It was named for the twelve miles south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass. As part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway, the Million Dollar Highway twists along sheer cliff edges with hairpin curves and few guardrails, past spectacular yellow foliage colors in autumn. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-4061-65-Pano.jpg
  • Ice encapsulated grass. Maroon-Snowmass Trail #1975, White River National Forest, near Aspen, Colorado, USA.
    1709US1-0382.jpg
  • The Maroon Bells reflect in Crater Lake. The Maroon Bells are two adjacent peaks of the Elk Mountains: Maroon Peak 14,163 feet on left, seen behind North Maroon Peak 14,019 feet, in Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest. The mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County, 12 miles southwest of Aspen, in Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1709US1-0300-15-Pano-Edit-2.jpg
  • Brown and white rock pattern. Castle Creek Road, Ashcroft, White River National Forest, Colorado, USA.
    1709US1-0190.jpg
  • Devils Kitchen rock formation, Colorado National Monument, near Grand Junction and Fruita, Colorado, USA. This desert land is high on the Colorado Plateau dotted with pinion and juniper forests. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1503SW-2173-75pan_Devils-Kitchen.jpg
  • Independence Monument and Monument Canyon, Colorado National Monument, near Grand Junction and Fruita, Colorado, USA. This desert land is high on the Colorado Plateau dotted with pinion and juniper forests.
    1503SW-1996_Independence-Monument.jpg
  • Independence Monument and Monument Canyon, Colorado National Monument, near Grand Junction and Fruita, Colorado, USA. This desert land is high on the Colorado Plateau dotted with pinion and juniper forests. This panorama was stitched from 5 overlapping photos.
    1503SW-1987-91pan_Colorado-National-...jpg
  • A woman in purple coat admires the gorge at Dragon Point, in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, near Montrose, Colorado, USA. Pressurized molten rock was forced into 1.7-billion-year-old metamorphic rock, forming pink pegmatite stripes on Colorado's highest cliffs. With two million years to work, the Gunnison River and weathering have sculpted a vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky. This panorama was stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    1503SW-1744-59pan-Edit_The-Painted-W...jpg
  • From Dragon Point, see fanciful patterns of pegmatite intrusions on the Painted Wall, in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, near Montrose, Colorado, USA. Pressurized molten rock was forced into 1.7-billion-year-old metamorphic rock, forming pink pegmatite stripes on Colorado's highest cliffs. With two million years to work, the Gunnison River and weathering have sculpted a vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky.
    1503SW-1738_pegmatite-intrusions.jpg
  • Gunnison River has cut a gorge 2300 feet deep at Painted Wall View, in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, near Montrose, Colorado, USA. Pressurized molten rock was forced into the 1.7 billion year old metamorphic rock of the Painted Wall, forming pink pegmatite stripes on Colorado's highest cliff. The canyon exposes you to some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America. With two million years to work, the Gunnison River, along with the forces of weathering, has sculpted this vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky. This panorama was stitched from 7 overlapping photos.
    1503SW-1601-07pan_The-Painted-Wall.jpg
  • Devils Kitchen rock formation, Colorado National Monument, near Grand Junction and Fruita, Colorado, USA. This desert land is high on the Colorado Plateau dotted with pinion and juniper forests. This panorama was stitched from 8 overlapping photos.
    1503SW-2126-33pan_Devils-Kitchen.jpg
  • The Maroon Bells and yellow aspen leaves reflect in Maroon Lake. The Maroon Bells are two adjacent peaks of the Elk Mountains: Maroon Peak 14,163 feet on left, seen behind North Maroon Peak 14,019 feet, in Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest. The mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County, about 12 miles southwest of Aspen, in Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1709US2-084-88-Pano_Maroon-Lake_CO.jpg
  • Dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-2409.jpg
  • Dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-2436.jpg
  • Dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-2482.jpg
  • Sunset. Dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-2484.jpg
  • Ice encases grass splattered by a stream. Ouray County Road 5, Uncompahgre National Forest, Ridgway, Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-5571.jpg
  • Sunset. Dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-2585.jpg
  • In morning light, dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-2645.jpg
  • In morning light, dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-2770-71-Pano.jpg
  • In morning light, dunes rise up to 750 feet tall in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, on the eastern edge of San Luis Valley, Sangre de Cristo Range, south-central Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-2795.jpg
  • Square Tower House, built 1100 CE on Chapin Mesa. Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Montezuma County, Colorado, USA. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States. It was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 near the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. Starting around 7500 BCE, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa's first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 1100s began building massive cliff dwellings. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south into what is today Arizona and New Mexico.
    1909US1-2936.jpg
  • Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America, was built 1190-1260 CE by Ancestral Puebloans on Chapin Mesa, in what is now Mesa Verde National Park, in Colorado, Southwestern USA. Cliff Palace was rediscovered in 1888 by Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason while looking for stray cattle. Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Montezuma County. The park was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 near the Four Corners region. Starting around 7500 BCE, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa's first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 1100s began building massive cliff dwellings. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south into what is today Arizona and New Mexico.
    1909US1-3003.jpg
  • Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America, was built 1190-1260 CE by Ancestral Puebloans on Chapin Mesa, in what is now Mesa Verde National Park, in Colorado, Southwestern USA. Cliff Palace was rediscovered in 1888 by Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason while looking for stray cattle. Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Montezuma County. The park was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 near the Four Corners region. Starting around 7500 BCE, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa's first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 1100s began building massive cliff dwellings. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south into what is today Arizona and New Mexico. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-3164-67-Pano.jpg
  • Tower interior at Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America, which was built 1190-1260 CE by Ancestral Puebloans on Chapin Mesa, in what is now Mesa Verde National Park, in Colorado, Southwestern USA. Cliff Palace was rediscovered in 1888 by Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason while looking for stray cattle. Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Montezuma County. The park was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 near the Four Corners region. Starting around 7500 BCE, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa's first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 1100s began building massive cliff dwellings. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south into what is today Arizona and New Mexico.
    1909US1-3185.jpg
  • Long House, built 1150-1300 CE on Wetherill Mesa. Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Montezuma County, Colorado, USA. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States. It was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 near the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. Starting around 7500 BCE, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa's first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 1100s began building massive cliff dwellings. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south into what is today Arizona and New Mexico. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-3376-87-Pano.jpg
  • Long House, built 1150-1300 CE on Wetherill Mesa. Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Montezuma County, Colorado, USA. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States. It was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 near the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. Starting around 7500 BCE, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa's first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 1100s began building massive cliff dwellings. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south into what is today Arizona and New Mexico. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-3455-61-Pano.jpg
  • A kiva at Step House on Wetherill Mesa in Mesa Verde National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Montezuma County, Colorado, USA. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States. It was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 near the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. Starting around 7500 BCE, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa's first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 1100s began building massive cliff dwellings. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south into what is today Arizona and New Mexico. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-3511-16-Pano.jpg
  • See ancient petroglyphs on Petroglyph Point Trail, which begins from Spruce Tree House on Chapin Mesa in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, USA. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States, and was established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 near the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Starting around 7500 BCE, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa's first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 1100s began building massive cliff dwellings. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south into what is today Arizona and New Mexico.
    1909US1-3648.jpg
  • Historic 1887 Strater Hotel, in Durango, Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-3711-12-Pano.jpg
  • Pinkerton Hot Springs soda water was bottled in 1892 for sale in Durango, Colorado, USA. James Harvey Pinkerton settled in the hot springs area in 1875. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-3718-19-Pano.jpg
  • Silverton, Colorado, USA. Silverton is a former silver mining camp, now the federally-designated Silverton Historic District. Durango is linked to Silverton by the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a National Historic Landmark. Silverton no longer has active mining, but subsists on tourism, maintenance of US 550 (which links Montrose with Durango), mine pollution remediation, and retirees.
    1909US1-3856.jpg
  • The train engine & cars depart Silverton, Colorado, USA. The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a National Historic Landmark, links Durango to Silverton, in Colorado, USA. Silverton is a former silver mining camp, now the federally-designated Silverton Historic District. Silverton no longer has active mining, but subsists on tourism, maintenance of US 550 (which links Montrose with Durango), mine pollution remediation, and retirees.
    1909US1-3998.jpg
  • Rusted car hood in the ruins of Idarado Mine, north of Red Mountain Pass along the Million Dollar Highway, in Colorado, USA. Winding through the San Juan Mountains, the Million Dollar Highway is the scenic 25 miles of US Route 550 between Silverton and Ouray. It was named for the twelve miles south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass. As part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway, the Million Dollar Highway twists along sheer cliff edges with hairpin curves and few guardrails, past spectacular yellow foliage colors in autumn.
    1909US1-4052.jpg
  • Ruins of Idarado Mine, north of Red Mountain Pass along the Million Dollar Highway, in Colorado, USA. Winding through the San Juan Mountains, the Million Dollar Highway is the scenic 25 miles of US Route 550 between Silverton and Ouray. It was named for the twelve miles south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass. As part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway, the Million Dollar Highway twists along sheer cliff edges with hairpin curves and few guardrails, past spectacular yellow foliage colors in autumn.
    1909US1-4123.jpg
  • Mt Sneffels rises above yellow fall aspen colors along Ouray County Road 5, in Uncompahgre National Forest, Ridgway, Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-5449.jpg
  • Yellow fall aspen colors along Ouray County Road 5, in Uncompahgre National Forest, Ridgway, Colorado, USA.
    1909US1-5609.jpg
  • Yellow fall aspen colors below pinnacles of Silver Mountain, seen from Sunshine Campground, Uncompahgre National Forest, Telluride, Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-5742-44-Pano.jpg
  • In Telluride, hike Jud Wiebe Trail to Sneffels Highline Trail, during peak fall colors in the first week of October in Uncompahgre National Forest, Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-5852-54-Pano.jpg
  • Admire the San Juan Mountains and yellow fall foliage colors from Telluride's FREE Gondola in Colorado, USA. Opened in November 1996, the Telluride/Mountain Village Gondola covers 3 miles in 13 minutes, and saves 8 miles of driving.
    1909US1-5909.jpg
  • Mt Sneffels rises above yellow fall aspen colors and our Pleasure-Way RV along Ouray County Road 5, in Uncompahgre National Forest, Ridgway, Colorado, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-5509-11-Pano.jpg
  • Longs Peak (14,259 feet) rises above Chasm Lake (11,760 feet), in Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, Estes Park, Colorado, USA. Hike 8.5 miles round trip with 2500 feet gain to Chasm Lake. Longs Peak is in the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Multiple overlapping photos were stitched to make this panorama.
    2108CO-57-59-Pano.jpg
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