South Park (Colorado)
South Park is a grassland area in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, about 3,000 m high between the mountains . It covers around 2800 km² and is located around the headwaters of the South Platte River in Park County about 100 km southwest of Denver . It is the southernmost of three such mountain valleys in Colorado, the others being North Park and Middle Park . The largest city in South Park is Fair Play , which is located near the north end.
geology
Geologically , the South Park valley floor is a broad rift-fracture syncline between the Front Range basement blocks to the east and the Sawatch Uplift to the west. The Mosquito Range seals off the valley to the west. The long-extinct Thirty Nine Mile volcanic area is not far to the south-east. The valley floor itself is mainly underlain by Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks , which are covered by a relatively thin layer of glacial rubble from the Pleistocene . The sedimentary rocks fall this easily one to the east. The younger east side of the valley is mainly built up by the Cretaceous Pierre Shale , while the older west side (west of Red Hill) contains sediments from the Permian and Pennsylvania (Upper Carboniferous). In the middle of the valley, Red Hill forms a ridge of layers of Cretaceous and Jurassic sedimentary rocks.
Natural resources
gold
Gold mining began in South Park in 1859. Extensive soap has been mined in the western portion of South Park and vein has been found in the Mosquito Range . The huge scree slopes east of Fairplay are a result of the former gold mining.
oil
Even if some of the same rock formations occur in South Park as in the oil and gas-bearing Denver basin further east, the search for commercially viable oil and gas deposits has so far been unsuccessful.
uranium
Of uranium (primarily here bound to sandstones) have been mined only relatively small quantities in South Park.
traffic
The valley is crossed by several highways, including US Highway 285 . This leads from the east over the Kenosha Pass through the Front Range and connects the region with Denver. The highway goes over the Red Hill Pass . In the north, the valley is connected by various high mountain passes with the valley of the North Fork South Platte River , a tributary of the South Platte River. The road leads over the Hoosier Pass to the Blue River at Breckenridge . At the southwest end, the Trout Creek Pass at the southern end of the Mosquito Range leads to the upper reaches of the Arkansas River at Buena Vista . US Highway 24 runs east over Wilkerson Pass to South Park.
history
Like most of Colorado's mountainous area, the valley was inhabited by the Ute before the arrival of the whites in the mid-19th century . It was explored on John C. Frémont's second expedition in 1844. The discovery of gold in the waterways led to the Colorado Gold Rush in 1859 , which attracted more scouts and miners to the area. Fair play was established as a place where law and order were more respected than in the older, nearby town of Tarryall . Fair play remained the center of gold and silver mining in South Park until the mid-20th century. South Park City , an open air museum outside of Fairplay, displays buildings and items from the gold rush era. The valley is connected to Denver by an extension of the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad that was built over the Kenosha Pass in 1879.
Popular culture
In the 1990s, South Park became famous for giving its name to the animated series South Park . Trey Parker , one of the creators of the television series, grew up in Conifer , about 70 km north-east of Fairplay.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.filmreference.com/film/49/Trey-Parker.html
- ↑ http://www.blockbuster.com/outlet/catalog/personDetails/48579
Web links
Coordinates: 38 ° 58 ′ 4.6 ″ N , 106 ° 2 ′ 42.6 ″ W.