Rocky Mountains, Here I Come

05 Jun Rocky Mountains, Here I Come

As I anticipate my arrival at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), I wonder what to expect in the geology of the Rockies.  As a geologist, I am curious to know how and when these mountains formed.  From my research, I have found that these mountains hold stories of collision, uplift, and erosion that occurred much before our time.  The story begins billions of years ago with the formation of rocks from magmatic processes that then collided about 50 million years ago due to tectonic plates ramming into each other.  The collision caused the rocks to metamorphose and uplift, creating mountains.  Over time, these mountains have changed shape due to weathering and erosion.  The Rockies we see today are just a glimpse of what the Earth has to tell us.  I hope that during my summer at RMNP I will see clues into the geologic past in the rocks that make the Park what it is today.