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THE STORY OF A CANON
by Meredith Dalebout with thanks to
Kristen A. Andrew-Hoeser, Cathy Railton
and The Friends of Cheyenne Cañon
Geology affects the ecology of an area and influences where plants grow and how plants grow by affecting the temperature, types of soils, exposures, and where surface and groundwater moves. All of this in turn affects what wildlife lives where.
| It’s interesting to discover, in a simplified
discussion, & what the underlying geologic conditions are in our
own North Cheyenne Cañon. A web of life has been created in the cañon,
beginning with rock movement, then water movement and creation of
soils, where a variety of plants can grow. The plants' growth has
determined what wildlife can live here, based on their needs for food
and habitat.
The creation of Pikes Peak Granite probably
began about 1 billion years ago, with movement of molten rock deep
below the surface of the area from the west side of Colorado Springs to
Lake George and the north side of Cheyenne Mountain to west of Castle
Rock. This molten rock stayed beneath the surface and never erupted
into a volcano, but created a field of granite. Pikes Peak, then, is
not a volcano.
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For a long time the surface of Colorado was covered with oceans, and limestone and shale were being deposited. As millions of years passed, the underground granite pushed up again and again, finally through the earth_s crust; the oceans became a shallow sea, then swamp (where dinosaurs roamed), then plains. Low-lying hills were created, then massive mountains. When the mountains were uplifted, great amounts of water moved through the fractures in the rock, down-cutting, and seeking to return to the level of the plains. Scientists believe that this water began to create North Cheyenne Cañon about 20 million years ago. Cutting of the cañon was also assisted by the flow of receding glaciers around Pikes Peak. The cutting, or erosion, through the rock was accomplished by debris of sand, gravel and rocks carried by the flowing water.
The red Pikes Peak Granite is crumbly and easily eroded. Fractures in the rock that carry water flow also enlarge because of constant freezing and melting. The moving water reacts with minerals in the rock, and soil is created where trees and shrubs can anchor. Beneath Pikes Peak Granite is Fayalite Granite, a harder rock, uncovered by the water flow. Because of its mineral content Fayalite Granite doesn_t fracture as easily as the Pikes Peak Granite, and therefore supports the falls in the upper cañon. (Helen Hunt Falls). Snowmelt from Mount Almagre (Old Baldy) becomes North Cheyenne Creek. The creek joins South Cheyenne Creek near Starsmore Discovery Center and eventually flows into Fountain Creek, the Arkansas River, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico.
The uplift of the mountains has created Life Zones, each with an environment different from the other, and different from the plains to the east. We can see the lifezones on the Columbine Trail, beginning with the Foothills Lifezone, which houses birds and animals that rely on oaks and shrubs for food and shelter. Here we also see forms of mahogany, sumac, yucca and Ponderosa pine. Further up the trail we can see vistas of the Pikes Peak Granite, and we enter the Montane Lifezone, where the climate is cooler and moister. This zone features Douglas and white fir forests, arching over mushrooms, mosses, and moisture-loving wildflowers.
We live in a brief moment of time, and the park lands in the cañon and nearby open space are gifts where we can learn the sciences of ecosystems, lifezones, and geologic shifts, and where we have the luxury to love, enjoy, and appreciate the grandeur and beauty of the area. It is our privilege to preserve and care for the cañon.
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