The Climate Around The Garden

The garden of the gods is effected in many regards when it come to climate. Like here in Denver, the Garden is right on the Eastern slope of the Continnental Divide and is effected by both the continental polar arimasses over Canada (mP), and the continental Tropical and maritime Tropical (cT, mT) that loom over the tropics to the South.

The Garden of the Gods would be found just West of the tip of the right arrow of the cT air mass, very near the posistion the Denver would be.

The air masses move throughout the season, the cT brings warm dry air from the South, the cP bring dry but cold air, and the mT air mass bring moist and warm air. The collision and movement of the three often causes storm cells, thunderstorms, lightning, and rarely, even tornadoes.

A lightning strike finding ground in the Gateway Arch

Storms here are not only cause by the collision of the airmasses necessarily. Often, due to adiabatic processes and orographic lifting, unstable airmasses will build right above the proximal continental divide and Pike's Peak. This unstable air becomes trapped and is forced to rise and rise. And as it does so more and more condensation takes place until eventually the mass needs to release all it's energy and begin dispersing.

A diagram representing the accumulation of condensation above a mountain range.

On the horizon, an unstable air mass is trapped over the continnental divide

The local area can esperience very strong winds. This, like some of the weather, is cause by the nearby continnental divide. These winds are often reffered to as "chinook" winds, and are the result of high pressure cells on the other side of the mountain that rush down the side of the mountain trying to reach lower pressure.
When taking a look at the albedo, or reflectivity of the sun's rays, of the Garden, one will notice that the area and shrubs around the large rock formations dont reflect much sunlight. However, looking at the rocks themselves, they stand out against the landscape with their brightness. The rocks' reflection of the insolation (incoming solar radiation) has a noticable effect on the area around.

The Bright, high albedo, rock formations Vs. background shrubery, low albedo

Due to the reflection of the insolation, the temparature around the rocks, on the side the sun is hitting, is normally higher than that of the area around it and especially compared the the temp. of the other side.

Weathering's Effect on the Garden

Weathering plays a prevalent roll in how the massive spines at Garden of the Gods obtain the unique often rugged look. In the local climate, similar to ours here in denver, the changes in the seasons are quite drastic. Hot summers and freezing winters play a large role in the shape of many rocks. Take for example the following formation...

The effect of frost weathering

Here there seem to be three seperate rocks, however what is now three used to be only one. Over a long period of time water has seeped into the small cracks, or fisures, of the rocks. Once there, overnight, the water would freeze and in doing so, expand. The fissures grew larger and larger continually splitting the rock. Rocks all over the local area have similar looking splits.

Looking closely you can see many of the small fisures here on this rock

Another way the snow and melt water play an effect is in the obvious basal weathering of certain large rocks. Here water and salt have warn away notches at the bases of these rocks.

The guy in this photo is standing to a form created by basal weathering

Trees and local small plants litter the rocks at the garden. Often these trees' roots will grow into the cracks of neaby rocks altering them. They can move rocks, shift rocks, and with enough time even break them in half. Often times the trees will be responsible for keeping certain rock structures supported because of the grab on the ground. Either way they play quite a role in the park's development.

Trees splitting a small rock formation. Camels kissing in background

Above you can distincly make out a hole at the top of the rock spine just behind the trees. This is an effect cause primarily, like much of the park, by frost and salt weathering. Here, the decaying processes created a cavern like structure and look like two kissing camels. The rock known as the kissing camels is one of the park's defining features.

This rock shows one of the more drastic effects of chemical weathering

In the above picture you can make out areas of the rock that seem to be bleached white. Rather, that is residue of salt coming slowly out of the rock. Overtime this salt will eat away at the rock, and as seen here, put it into some of the strangest places.



The Forms and Processes of Garden of the Gods

The rocks at the Garden, each one unique in its own way, get you to question how they were formed in the first place. At first the tall straight and skinny rocks hint at a dyke that had the soil around it slowly eroded away. However, all these rocks that jet into the air are all intrusive sedimentary rocks. While it is still weathering and erosion that uncovered them, they are not formed by volcanic activity.

The intrusive sedimentary rocks of the Garden

Aging of the rocks hints at the age of around 300 million years, around the time of the dinosaurs. Pikes peak, the mountain closest and most related with the park is almost completely ganite and dates back nearly 1.6 billion years. This means that these formations were formed in a period well after the ancestral rockies. Many fossils of dinosars and other specimines have been found all around the park also hinting at the age. Because of this I hypothesize that glaciers from the precambrian sea that stretched directly through this area helped in the creation and erosion of what we see today.

Pike's Peak rising ominously behing the rocks of the park

Pikes Peak, being made at a different time, was made in a completely different fashion. Unlike the rocks in the garden, Pike's is made up of granite, an intrusive igneous rock. This whole area has been greatly effected by faulting. Taking a look at this picture it becomes more evident...

Many straight lines in pattern indicates faulting

The most aparent feature on this map is the graben that has formed due to the extension fault just east of the main line of the rocks that give this garden its name. The top (most north part) of this wall of rocks is marked by the small red dot. Just to the east of this line there is a noticable small valley just before the land rises back up. The graben is not the only evidence of faulting. Even smaller faults on the rocks themselves often give them their unique shape.

Gateway rock with the plaque that shows the day the garden was given to Colo. Springs

Here on Gateway Rock there is a fault or area where the rock has broken. The crack stretches down just to the right of the plaque. It is smaller faults like this that give the rock their unique shapes.

Introduction

I have chosen to take a closer look at the Garden of the Gods national park. This park is located just West of Colorado Springs, inbetween the eastern face of the divide and the town proper. Here magnificent red plates jet into the air creating a unique area of geographical interest.

I have visited this park many times and it still remains my favorate. The geysers of Yellowstone dont compare to this incredible formation to me. The area, in its diversity, allows me to analyze many different geographical concepts and is well suited for my blog. Now that I am gaining more and more knowledge in this class I look forward to analyzing the Garden through a new set of eyes. I will uncover the driving forces behind the creation of these rocks and how it has effected the local flora and fauna. I look forward to using this location to expanding my knowledge of geography.