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Formations

Denver lies atop thousands of feet of rock layers, called formations, that represent hundreds of millions of years of geologic history. Dig deeper into Denver's past by clicking on the underlined formation names (to the left). Or, see what the Denver area looked like when specific rock layers were being formed by clicking on an underlined landscape title (to the right).

Quaternary sediments/Pleistocene dunes Castle Rock Rhyolite Castle Rock Conglomerate D2-Dawson Arkose Paleosol D1-Dawson Arkose, Denver Formation, Arapahoe Conglomerate Laramie Formation Fox Hills Sandstone Quaternary sediments/Pleistocene dunes Castle Rock Rhyolite Castle Rock Conglomerate D2-Dawson Arkose Paleosol D1-Dawson Arkose, Denver Formation, Arapahoe Conglomerate Laramie Formation Fox Hills Sandstone Front Range Today Ice Age Summer Castle Rock Floods The Rockies Explode Red Dirt World The First Rainforest After Armageddon Finally the Rockies Submarine Colorado Dakota Sandstone Morrison Fomation Lykins Formation Lyons Formation Fountain Formation Precambrian Igneous and metamorphic rocks Dakota Sandstone Morrison Fomation Lykins Formation Lyons Formation Fountain Formation Long Neck Meadow Colorado's East Coast Slimy Shoreline Sand Planet Ancestral Rockies
Pierre Shale
Precambrian Igneous and metamorphic rocks

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