Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument in west-central Colorado was established in 1911 to preserve a 20,454-acre tract of the Uncompaghre Plateau that is dissected by steep-walled canyons in which the effects of ice, running water, and wind have carved a variety of spectacular forms. The free-standing sandstone columns of Monument Canyon are among the most picturesque of these. Erosion has also unearthed 100-million-year-old dinosaur bones and petrified logs, as well as artifacts that provide evidence of occupation by prehistoric American Indian tribes. The numerous canyons are all cut into a steep, high escarpment that rises above the broad, flat valley of the Colorado River.