Description

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Colorado National Monument preserves one of the grand Around 440,000 people per year visit Colorado National landscapes of the American West. Sheer-walled canyons, Monument to enjoy these and other opportunities. towering monoliths, colorful formations, desert bighorn The monument encompasses some 20,000 acres, of sheep, soaring eagles, and a spectacular road reflect the which approximately 15,000 acres has been identified or Foundation Document Overview environment and history of the plateau and canyon country. proposed as wilderness and serves as a refuge for self- Historic Rim Rock Drive offers 23 miles of breathtaking discovery, solitude, and natural quiet. The wilderness panoramic views and numerous scenic overlooks. Trails lead acreage is still under congressional consideration and is Colorado National Monument across mesa tops and into backcountry canyons. Picnicking managed under NPS policy as a wilderness until formally Some land outside the park Trail Overlook 7mi Distance along Ranger station Campground Colorado boundary is privately owned. 11km Rim Rock Drive and camping are available. At an average elevationPlease respect the owne ofrs’ 6,000 designated by Congress. rights and do not trespass. Access gate Unpaved road Wheelchair-accessible Picnic area feet at the rim, the climate is

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Glade Park (community) To d Grand oa Junction S R oad/C e Park R Littl Contact Information No Thoroughfare Canyon Trail For more information about the Colorado National Monument Foundation Document,

Park Ro le ad itt /CS ANYON L R C o ROUGH a contact: [email protected] or (970) 858-3617 ext. 300 or write to: d Superintendent, Colorado National Monument, 1750 Rim Rock Drive, Fruita, CO 81521-0001 Purpose Significance Fundamental Resources and Values & Other Important Resources and Values

Significance statements express why Colorado National • Human History. The continuum of human use and Monument resources and values are important enough cultural ties are revealed by rock art, lithic scatters, and to merit national park unit designation. Statements of historic trails and routes of ancestral peoples including significance describe why an area is important within a the Archaic, Fremont, and Ute tribes, informing the global, national, regional, and systemwide context. These rich and diverse museum collections of Colorado statements are linked to the purpose of the park unit, and National Monument. Other historic cultural resources are supported by data, research, and consensus. Significance such as Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and statements describe the distinctive nature of the park and Mission 66 structures, artifacts, and stories serve to inform management decisions, focusing efforts on preserving document the more recent time line of human history and protecting the most important resources and values of in the monument. the park unit. • Rim Rock Drive. The idea of a roadway along the rim • Colorado National Monument exposes and preserves of the red rock canyons was a rallying point for local three different groups of rock and sediment—the first is support that led to the preservation of the national the Early to Middle Proterozoic gneiss and schist; then the monument. As a road engineering masterpiece of the horizontally bedded Mesozoic sedimentary rocks; and the Great Depression era, Rim Rock Drive has earned its youngest being the various types of Quaternary deposits listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The such as alluvium, colluvium, and dunes reflecting two billion scenic roadway is inseparable from the identity of the years of Earth history. Wind and water erosion continues monument, providing the primary platform from which olorado ational The purpose of C N to form and reveal spectacular land forms and viewsheds visitors can experience, understand, and appreciate the Monument is to provide for the of canyons, plateaus, and towering monoliths at the beauty of the monument. preservation, understanding, and northeastern gateway of the Colorado Plateau. • Scenery. The striking and colorfully sculpted canyons, Fundamental resources and values are those features, systems, • Colorado National Monument preserves and protects monoliths, rock formations, and distant views of the enjoyment of its natural and cultural processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other resources as showcased by its representative examples of intact high desert ecosystems attributes determined to merit primary consideration during Grand Valley, Book Cliffs, and Grand Mesa along with extraordinary erosional, geological, of the Colorado Plateau, providing opportunities for planning and management processes because they are essential to the Colorado River, encompass a visual beauty that stirs scientific studies. achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. imaginations, forges individual connections between and historical landscapes reflective of people and the monument, and is embedded in the • Colorado National Monument preserves and protects • Geologic Processes. The magnificent scenery, character and the northern Colorado Plateau and of identity of Colorado’s Western Slope. cultural, physical, paleontological, biological, and geological beauty of the monument are the result of geologic processes in great scientific interest. resources and values for education, interpretation, and many forms, including sedimentation, faulting, uplift, erosion, Colorado National Monument contains other resources enjoyment within a growing urban community. landslides, rockfalls, and flash floods. Geologic processes and values that may not be fundamental to the purpose dominate all other natural processes acting on the monument and significance of the park, but are important to consider landscape. in management and planning decisions. These are referred to as other important resources and values. • Geologic Features. The abundant geologic features preserved at Colorado National Monument provide an ideal • Wilderness. The monument encompasses some 20,000 outdoor lab for ongoing scientific study of the geology of acres, of which approximately 15,000 acres have been the Colorado Plateau. Particularly notable are the hanging identified or proposed as wilderness and serve as a canyons (U-shaped valleys), rock layers that record geologic refuge for self-discovery, solitude, and natural quiet. history, distinctive monoliths and canyons, and the Great The wilderness acreage is still under congressional Unconformity (1.2 billion years of absent rock history). consideration and is managed under NPS policy as a • Ecological Systems. The species, landscapes, and related wilderness until formally designated by Congress. attributes so highly valued by monument visitors and society • Diversity of Visitor Experiences. Colorado National at large cannot be preserved without also conserving the Monument’s proximity to an urban setting provides ecological systems of which they are a part. Some of the key opportunities for a diversity of visitor experiences components of the system are eco-regional distinctiveness through education, interpretation, and recreation. (old-growth pinyon-juniper forest, hanging gardens), ecological functionality (air, water, and hydrological processes; biological soil crusts; riparian and wetland ecosystems); and native grasslands and sagebrush shrublands.