Subject: Geology of Golden, Colorado
Contents
Geology of the Golden Area: Overview
Golden, Colorado, is located in the Foothills province of the Front Range, Rocky Mountains. This area is a stretch of parallel hogbacks and valleys running roughly north-south just east of the Front Range's main uplift. These features are formed by rock layers tilted against and over the edge of the Front Range and then eroded at different rates.
In this area, uplift of the Front Range occurred along the Golden Fault, which runs along the eastern flank of the Dakota Hogback south of Golden. The Colorado Mineral Belt with its deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc, is in the mountains to the west of Golden. Golden's most prominent geologic features are the North and South Table Mountains, composed of layers of the Denver Formation capped by regional basalt flows.
Help: Finding Information on Golden Geology
For information on the Golden area, use geographic keywords such as
golden jefferson county
front range table mountain
ralston dike clear creek
Search Tips:
  • Library catalog searching:
    • Use the keyword "geology."
    • Consider broadening your search concepts--library catalogs typically don't index materials in great subject detail. A search for "front range" or "jefferson county" may get more results than a specific search for "ralston dike" or "golden."
  • Geology databases:
    • Don't use the keyword "geology"; almost everything in the database refers to geology.
    • You can (and should be) much more specific with keywords. Search for "ralston dike" rather than "front range."
  • Field guides to regional and Colorado geology provide good overviews
  • See Geology for more tips on searching geologic information in general.
Library Resources
Bibliography:

Chronic, Halka. 1980. Roadside geology of Colorado. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press.

Holden, Gregory S. 1988. Geological Society of America field trip guidebook, 1988: Centennial meeting, Denver, Colorado. Golden, CO: Colorado School of Mines.

Johnson, J. Harlan. 1934. Introduction to the geology of the Golden area, Colorado. Quarterly of the Colorado School of Mines 29(4) p.7-36.

Van Horn, Richard. 1976. Geology of the Golden Quadrangle, Colorado. USGS Prof. Paper 872. Washington DC: USGPO.

Van Horn, Richard. 1972. Geologic map of the Golden Quadrangle, Colorado. USGS Misc. Geol. Invest. Map I-761-A. Washington DC: USGPO.

Van Tuyl, F.M.; Johnson, J. Harlan; Waldschmidt, W.A.; Boyd, James; Parker, Ben H. 1938. Guide to the geology of the Golden area. Quarterly of the Colorado School of Mines 33(3) p.5-32.

Waldschmidt, W.A. 1939. The Table Mountain lavas and associated igneous rocks near Golden, Colorado. Quarterly of the Colorado School of Mines 34(3) p.3-62.
Recommended for Additional Research:
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