
Azurite and Chalcoalumite
from Cochise, Arizona

Ectoconus, Denver Formation
courtesy of the State of Colorado

Magnoliopsida, Denver Formation
Courtesy of the State of Colorado

Baioconodon denverensis, Denver Formation
courtesy of Jefferson County Open Space

Briggsdale meteorite
Weld County, Colorado

Cycadales, Denver Formation
Courtesy of the State of Colorado

Loxolophus, Denver Formation
courtesy of the State of Colorado

Rhodochrosites
from Argentina, South Africa and Colorado

Springwater meteorite
Saskatchewan, Canada

Rhamnus goldiana
from El Paso, Colorado

Torosaurus
Adams County, Colorado

Aesiocrinus
from the Thayer Shale Formation, Missouri

Cyrtospirifer, Dyer Formation
courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service

Gypsum, Selenite
from Valencia, New Mexico

Crocodylidae, Denver Formation
El Paso County, Colorado

Gilmoremys, Denver Formation
El Paso County, Colorado

Marshosaurus, Morrison Formation
courtesy of the State of Colorado

Marshosaurus, Morrison Formation
courtesy of the State of Colorado
The Department of Earth Sciences contains six major collections. In geology: rocks, minerals, and meteorites. In paleontology: fossil vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants
The vertebrate paleontology collection consists mainly of Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaurs, Cretaceous Seaway fishes and reptiles, and Cenozoic mammals from the American West. It also has a major focus in the vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. The paleobotany collection is dominated by Cretaceous-Eocene leaves and is the second largest of its kind in the nation. The invertebrate paleontology collection’s main strengths are Cambrian-Ordovician trilobites, Cretaceous Seaway mollusks, and Eocene insects. The mineral collection focuses on Colorado and includes one of the nation’s most diverse collections of micromount minerals. The rock collection includes historical and building-stone collections, as well as representative rock units from the Rockies. The meteorite collection is one of the nation’s oldest, featuring historic samples from around the world with a significant fraction from Colorado.