Option #1: Earth Science Where You Live
What does Earth Science reveal about your home place through time? This research paper will provide you with an opportunity to learn more about where you live. In your report, be sure to cover the following topics:
1
Glenwood Springs, Geological Wonder
Jennifer Beck
Colorado State University Global
GEO101C-2- Earth Science with Lab
Heather Hill
July 4, 2021
2
Glenwood Canyon, Geological Wonder
Thesis
Glenwood Springs is a small mountain town located in the Western Slope of Colorado.
The town sits, nestled in a canyon with an elevation of 5,578 feet which hold the confluence of
both the Colroado and the Roaring Fork Rivers. This thesis will explore the geography of the
erea, emphasizing on locations and geological formations that make the area unique but also
explain the not only the age of the area but the complexity of its formation.
1. Geography and Formations
A. Surrounded by vast forest
ii. White River National Forest
iii. Hanging Lake
B. Five Hot Springs in the area
i. Glenwood Hot SPrings
ii. Iron Mountain Hot Springs
iii. Penny Hot Springs
vi. South Canyon (Hippy Hot Springs)
v. Yampah Hot Spring
a. Geothermal Hot Springs and Steam Baths
C. Caves and Volcanos
i. Fairy Caves/Glenwood Caverns
ii. Holocene volcano,
a. Dotsero, near, Glenwood Springs
2. How Glenwood Springs and the Canyon were formed:
A. Glenwood Springs sits upon the north American tectonic plate
3
Formation of the Rocky Mountains happened roughly 80 million years ago
i. Pacific Plate collided with the North American plate and thrusted the Earth
upward
B. Glenwood Canyon was formed in Pleinstocene age
i. Roughly three millions years ago, th Colorado River flowed roughly more than
2400 feet higher than its current flow.
a. As the depth of the river decreased, it eroded away various layers of
sediment rock.
3. The weather and climate of your home place
A.
Glenwood Springs has a temperate climate and experiences all four seasons
annually.
i. Winter Months
a. Average temperature, Average Snow Fall
ii. Spring
a. Average temperature, Average Snow Fall, Average Rain Fall,
iii. Summer
a. Average temperature, Rain Fall, Fire Dangers
iv. Autumn
a. Average temperature, Rain Fall, Average Snow Fall
4. Conclusion.
A. Glenwood Springs, Now.
4
References
Bennett, S. (n.d.). CHAPTER 3: THE TECTONIC EVOLUTION OF THE COLORADO
PLATEAU AND GRAND CANYON REGION. Retrieved from website:
https://watershed.ucdavis.edu/education/classes/files/content/page/Ch3_GrandCanyonTec
tonics.pdf
Colorado State University Global. (2020). Module 5: Role of ethical communication and
influence in leadership [Interactive lecture]. Canvas. https://portal.csuglobal.edu
Decker.K- Evaluation of Hanging Lake. Retrieved from
https://files.cfc.umt.edu/cesu/NPS/CSU/2007/07Stevens_NNL%20evaluations%20Decke
r%20Hanging%20Lake%20fnl%20rpt.pdf
Global Volcanism Program | Dotsero. (2013). Retrieved July 4, 2021, from Smithsonian
Institution | Global Volcanism Program website:
https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=328010
Glenwood Canyon – Colorado Mountain College. (2018, May 7). Retrieved July 3, 2021,
from Colorado Mountain College website: https://coloradomtn.edu/gc/gws-canyon/
Glenwood Springs | Colorado, United States | Britannica. (2021). In Encyclopædia
Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Glenwood-Springs