Colorado National Monument

The Colorado National Monument offers a close-up view of the ruggedness of nature and displays the results of millions of years of the earth's own artistry. It is a grand and powerful landscape that speaks of mystery and magic. The Colorado National Monument encompasses some 20,500 acres, much of which has been recommended to Congress for designation as wilderness. The beautiful canyons start at an elevation of 4,700 feet and the magnificent formations reach up to 7,200 feet. The Colorado National Monument is a great example of deep canyons, sand-stone walls and jagged rocks that will give all camera bugs subjects to shoot for months.

The Colorado National Monument is named after the river rather than the state, and covers a relatively small area of eroded red rock formations and canyons just south of the Colorado River near Grand Junction . This town, near the Utah border, is surrounded in most directions by impressive multi-colored rocks; the orange/brown layered Book Cliffs dominate the town from the north, and extend westwards for nearly 200 miles to the Manti-la-Sal mountains of central Utah. Immediately southwest of the town, tributaries of the Colorado river have carved through the edge of the high Uncompahgre Plateau that borders the Colorado for some distance, but only the most scenic area, about 10 by 5 miles, is within the national monument. This contains four main canyons, cutting into the plateau for several miles, with several smaller ravines, isolated towers and pinnacles, and many other rock formations.
The Monument was established on May 24th, 1911, the park averages about 300,000 visitors every year. The Colorado National Monument is also home to a wide variety of wildlife including bighorn sheep, golden eagles, mule deer and mountain lions