Cascade near Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)

The Making of America's Mountain

Photographed by Charles T. Harrell, July 1, 2011

1. The Making of America's Mountain Marker

Inscription. The granite that make up Pikes Peak was once molten (or liquid) rock. It slowly cooled and hardened miles beneath the earth’s surface, giving the crystals time to grow. Over the last 500 million years several tectonic plates (the earth’s outer layers) have collided and pushed the now-cool granite lying below the surface upward. Around 65 million years ago a tectonic plate under the Pacific Ocean was driving into the North American continent. This movement initiated tremendous, mountain-building pressure below what is now Colorado and created Pikes Peak. From two million to 10,000 years ago a series of Ice Age climates gripped the land. Alpine glaciers formed on Pikes Peak. These rivers of ice gouged bowl0like hollows and U-shaped valleys. Since then, erosion has continued to sculpt the rugged mountain.

(Inset) Look at a piece of Pikes Peak Granite. You are seeing a rock that’s over a billion years old! Can you see white or clear quartz, pink feldspar and dark, shiny flakes o mica? These large crystals five us clues to the rock’s origin.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Environment.

Location. 38° 55.301′ N,

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105° 1.549′ W. Marker is near Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. It is in Cascade. It is on Pike's Peak Toll Road. The marker is found at the Crystal Reservoir Visitor Center. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cascade CO 80809, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Colorado’s Front Range

and in Pikes Peak Region.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Comanchería.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Well-traveled Water (here, next to this marker); Test Your Bird I.Q. (here, next to this marker); A Mountain of Many Names (here, next to this marker); Take a Closer Look...Foothills Life Zone (here, next to this marker); Take a Closer Look...Montane Life Zone (here, next to this marker); Take a Closer Look...Alpine/Subalpine Life Zone (here, next to this marker); Pick a Climate (here, next

Markers at Crystal Reservoir image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Charles T. Harrell, July 1, 2011

2. Markers at Crystal Reservoir

to this marker); In Memory of Lance Corporal Emmett Jack Peters (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Colorado Springs.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 25, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 10, 2011, by Charles T. Harrell of Woodford, Virginia. This page has been viewed 843 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 10, 2011, by Charles T. Harrell of Woodford, Virginia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.