The Garden of the Gods is a 1,300-acre park in Colorado Springs which has a range of incredible rock formations. There are more than 15 miles of trails with a 1 1/2-mile walk running through the heart of the park that is paved. The distinctive formations attract more than two million visitors a year who come to enjoy the beauty of the Park and learn the secrets of this amazing place.

Cast your mind back to about 65 million years ago when there was an intense period of geological upheaval along a natural fault line caused by the old Pacific plate slamming into the North American plate! Sedimentary rocks, which were lying horizontal at the time, were tilted vertically and faulted into “fins” by the immense mountain-building forces caused by the uplift of the surrounding Rocky Mountains. The Ice Age that followed caused weathering and glaciation of the rock, the softer rocks eroded and valleys were created leaving harder rocks standing as the tall ridges. The resulting rocks had different shapes – toppled, overturned, stood-up, pushed around and slanted – and are simply magnificent to see up close!

Archaeological evidence shows that prehistoric people visited Garden of the Gods about 1330 BC. At about 250 BC, Native American people camped in the park; they are believed to have been attracted to wildlife and plant life in the area and used overhangs created by the rocks for shelter.

The red colour of the outcrops is due to the presence of iron oxide or hematite. Exposure to the elements causes iron minerals to oxidize or “rust,” resulting in red, orange and brown-coloured rocks.

Many of the rock formations have names! Top Left: two camels kissing! Top Right: the three graces!