Roxborough State Park
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Roxborough State Park
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| location | Douglas County in Colorado (USA) | |
| surface | 13.5 km² | |
| Geographical location | 39 ° 26 ′ N , 105 ° 4 ′ W | |
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| Setup date | 1975, National Natural Landmark since 1980 | |
| administration | Colorado Department of Natural Resources | |
The Roxborough State Park is a State Park in Douglas County in the US state of Colorado . It is located southwest of Denver and about 15 miles south of Littleton on the north side of the Pike National Forest . On an area of 13.5 km², the rock formations created by faults and erosion are primarily the defining element of the park.
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history
In 1975 the area was designated a state park and has since been administered by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Between July 2006 and June 2007, 63,769 park visitors were counted within one year. In 1980, Roxborough State Park was also registered as a National Natural Landmark .
geology
The park area rises 1800-2200 m above sea level, the drainage takes place mainly in the Willow Creek , the Little Willow Creek and the Mill Gulch . It forms an ecotone between the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the forest communities of the Front Range and the plain with grassland.
The fountain formation made of red to gray sandstone was created 300 million years ago by faults and various erosion from the primeval Rocky Mountains. The sandstone layer with an angle of 60 ° has also earned the nickname Iron Flat (iron). In the park there are also exposed layers from the Precambrian , Cretaceous and Permian periods .
flora
The park contains some high-quality undisturbed plant communities with stocks of yellow pines ( Pinus ponderosa ), Douglas fir forests and Gambeleichen ( Quercus gambelii ).
Half of the park is covered by a thicket of mainly game oaks ( Cercocarpus ), buckbrush, three-lobed sumac ( Rhus trilobata ), snowberries and yucca . Mixed grass stands are in places where the ground is deep and moist enough, such as Western Wheatgrass ( Pascopyrum smithii ), Green Needlegrass ( Stipa viridula ), Little Bluestem ( Schizachyrium scoparium ), Big Bluestem ( Andropogon gerardii ), Prairie Sandreed ( Calamovilfa longifolia) ), Blue grama ( Bouteloua gracilis ), sideoats grama ( Bouteloua curtipendula ) and needle-and-thread grass ( Stipa comata ).
A bird cherry species ( prunus virginia ), maple species such as ( acer glabrum ), shrub areas with ( rubus deliciosus ), but also ( Lilium philadelphicum ) , ( Eutrochium ), sun rose , ( Pterospora andromedea ) and carrion flower are located along the rivers .
fauna
Park visitors often see mule deer , coyotes , foxes, black-tailed prairie dogs ( Cynomys ludovicianus ) and cottontail rabbits . Wapiti , black bear , puma and bobcat are less common .
145 bird species have been counted in over 20 years of birdwatching, 42 of which also nest in Roxborough State Park. Birds of prey, songbirds, waterfowl and grassland species such as evening bunting ( Pooecetes gramineus ) and western larch blackbird populate the area. Also rock wren , Tanager , Broadtail Hummingbird , King Buzzard ( Buteo regalis ) and Burrowing can be observed.
References
- ↑ http://parks.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/B3FC1BFB-A42B-49BB-8B8E-880E63FB8491/0/Roxborough_FactSheet11_07f.pdf ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically defective marked. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/Registry/USA_Map/States/Colorado/NNL/RSP/index.cfm
- ↑ http://parks.state.co.us/Parks/Roxborough/Nature/Geology/
- ↑ http://parks.state.co.us/Parks/Roxborough/Nature/Plants/
- ↑ http://parks.state.co.us/Parks/Roxborough/Nature/Wildlife/
