The rocks beneath Denver record the past 300 million years of Earth’s history. They tell stories of the birth and demise of seas and mountains, of global catastrophes leading to dinosaur extinction, of ancient rainforest evolution, and the birth of the present-day Rockies.
Recent interest in the Denver Basin began in the early 1990s with the discovery of fossil palm trees at DIA, dinosaur remains beneath Coors Field, and one of the world’s earliest rainforests in Castle Rock, Colorado. But researchers didn't have any context for these finds at the time, and weren't sure of the age of rock below the surface.
So in 1999, Museum scientists drilled and obtained a continuous 2.5-inch diameter core of the top 2,256 feet of rock in the Denver Basin in Kiowa, Colorado. From this sampling, they were able to create a map of the Denver Basin that shows the different ages of rock underneath. They were also able to glean important information on the area's water supply and aquifers.
Today research continues on the core, which is held at the U.S. Geological Survey. Museum staff hope to learn more about how ancient rainforests, like the one in Castle Rock, developed. And they aim to continue mapping subsurface water resources, monitor declining water levels, and communicate consequences to the public.
Paleontology and Stratigraphy in the Denver Basin
Barclay, R. S., Johnson, K. R., Betterton, W. J., and Dilcher, D. L., 2003, Stratigraphy, megaflora, and the K-T boundary in the eastern Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 8.2MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 38, no. 1. P. 45-71.
Carpenter, K. and Young, D. B., 2002, Late Cretaceous dinosaurs from the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 2.1MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 237-254.
Eberle, J. J., 2003, Puercan mammalian systematics and biostratigraphy in the Denver Formation, Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 2.9MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 38, no. 1, p. 143-169.
Ellis, B., Johnson, K. R., and Dunn, R. E., 2003, Evidence for an in situ early Paleocene rainforest from Castle Rock, Colorado (PDF | 8.6MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 38, no. 1, p. 73-100.
Farnham, T. M. and Kraus, M. J., 2002, The stratigraphic and climatic significance of Paleogene alluvial paleosols in synorogenic strata of the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 1.4MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 201-214.
Hicks, J. F., Johnson, K. R., Obradovich, J. D., Miggins, D. P., and Tauxe, L., 2003, Magnetostratigraphy of Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to lower Eocene strata of the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 3.9MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 38, no. 1, p. 1-27.
Hutchison, J. H. and Holroyd, P. A., 2003, Late Cretaceous and early Paleocene turtles of the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 3.3MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 38, no. 1, p. 121-142.
Johnson, K. R. and Ellis, B., 2002, A tropical rainforest in Colorado 1.4 million years after the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary: Science, v. 296, p. 2379-2383.
Johnson, K. R. and Raynolds, R. G., 2002, Introduction to special issues: Paleontology and stratigraphy of Laramide strata in the Denver Basin (PDF | 100KB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 103-104.
Johnson, K. R., Reynolds, M. L., Werth, K. W. and Thomasson, J. R., 2003, Overview of the Late Cretaceous, early Paleocene, and early Eocene megafloras of the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 6MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 38, no. 1, p. 101-120.
Kelley, S. A. and Blackwell, D. B., 2002, Subsurface temperatures in the southern Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 855KB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 215-228.
Kelley, S. A., 2002, Unroofing of the southern Front Range, Colorado: A view from the Denver Basin (PDF | 1.2MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 189-200.
Labandeira, C. C., Johnson, K. R., and Wilf, P., 2002, Impact of the terminal Cretaceous event on plant-insect associations (PDF | 554KB): Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 99, no. 4, p. 2061-2066.
Nichols, D. J. and Fleming, R. F., 2002, Palynology and palynostratigraphy of Maastrichtian, Paleocene, and Eocene strata in the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 4.4MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 135-164.
Obradovich, J. D., 2002, Geochronology of Laramide synorogenic strata in the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 868KB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 165-172.
Raynolds, R. G. and Johnson, K. R., 2002, Drilling of the Kiowa Core, Elbert County, Colorado (PDF | 2MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 105-110.
Raynolds, R. G. and Johnson, K. R., 2003, Synopsis of the stratigraphy and paleontology of the uppermost Cretaceous and lower Tertiary strata in the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 13.4MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 38, no. 1, p. 171-181.
Raynolds, R. G., 2002, Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary stratigraphy of the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 4.1MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 111-134.
Wheeler, E. A. and Michalski, T., 2003, Paleocene and early Eocene woods of the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 4.4MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 38, no. 1, p. 29-43.
Wilf, P., Ladandeira, C. C., Johnson, K. R., and Ellis, B., 2006, Decoupled plant and insect diversity after the End-Cretaceous extinction: Science, v. 313, p. 1112-1115.
Wilson, M. D., 2002, Petrographic provenance analysis of Kiowa Core sandstone samples, Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 959MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 173-188.
Woodward, L. L., Sanford, W., and Raynolds, R. G., 2002, Stratigraphic variability of specific yield within bedrock aquifers of the Denver Basin, Colorado (PDF | 1.8MB): Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 37, no. 2, p. 229-236.
Please note: To view and print the forms, Adobe Acrobat Reader is required. Visit Adobe’s Web site to download the latest version of Acrobat Reader.