 |
Denver
| |||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Music to accompany this page:
| ||||||||||||
The Red Rocks Amphitheater was created in 1936 by carving 9,000 seats between two large boulders. Colorado's Ocean Journey is a new addition to the city. This aquarium opened in 1999, with over 15,000 species of birds, The Butterfly Pavilion and Insect Center is the only stand-alone insect zoo in the nation. It was Rocky Mountain National Park is a year-round favorite of outdoor enthusiasts. The U.S. Government acquired the | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
This Web Site and its contents (eg. HTML, design and images) are the property of Angelsmist. Please notify the author if you wish to use any of the contents or images. |
built in the 1890's of white granite with large pillars at each entrance to help support a massive ceramic roof. The structure is best known for it's shimmering dome. In 1908, the dome was covered with 24-karat gold leaf to commemorate the discovery of gold in the area by early prospectors. The history of Denver is depicted in the carved stone statues along the west entrance. The city earns it's nickname the "Mile High City", because when standing on the western staircase, one is exactly one mile above sea level. Inside, the capitol is furnished in spectacular fashion, including priceless wainscoting of Colorado onyx, a red marble. All known supplies of this rare stone were used during the construction of the building. A dedication to the sixteen founding fathers of the city is portrayed in the stained glass that lines the walls leading up to the dome overhead. Brass, copper and glass glisten throughout the building from the moment visitors enter any on the entrances through to the galleries for the House of Representatives and Senate bodies.
The first concert held on the premises actually occurred over twenty years prior to that, when the founder of Cosmopolitan magazine, John Walker, hosted a band for a Sunday morning concert. He proclaimed that Red Rocks was a naturally perfect acoustical Amphitheatre. When George Crammer took over as Manager of Parks and Improvements, in 1935, he brought the idea of Walker's dream, and the Greek outdoor theater venue to life in Colorado. The original creation of the park began over a million years ago, when the area was little more than an inland seabed. Sandstone was formed as sand settled on the bottom and hardened. This later turned to shades of red, due to iron oxide deposits. The jagged edges of the boulders occur in much the same way as the Rocky Mountains, when upheavals of the earths crust, push up the sandstone.
fish, and mammals. Areas of interest have been separated into five primary categories. Colorado River Journey follows the river down the Continental Divide to the Sea of Cortez, exploring wetlands, waterfalls, beaver ponds and trout streams. The Sea of Cortez exhibit offers a tranquil setting under the crashing waves of the ocean, displaying an array of brightly colored salt water fish, corals and stingrays. Guests then 
travel across the world to the Indonesian River Journey, following the river from the rain forests, complete with Sumatran tigers, as they weave their way through to the Pacific Ocean. The depths of the Pacific Ocean exhibit amazes visitors as they learn of the many different species of aquatic life residing together in the brilliant blue waters. The last area, Sea Otter Cove, provides a safe haven for endangered sea otters, whose numbers have dwindled due to extensive hunting.
founded in 1995 by the Rocky Mountain Butterfly Consortium, with the goal of educating the public of the need to conserve threatened species and habitats throughout the world. Fluttering about the 7,200 square foot rainforest are over 1,200 butterflies that represent fifty different species. Care was taken in selecting the tropical plants to create an environment that would not only provide nectar for the feeding butterflies, but also shelter them. In the wild, less than 2% of the butterflies will reach the adult stage of their life cycle. Visitors to the pavalion are able to enter the fragile world of these marvelous beauties, and explore them up close.
initial 360 square mile park as a part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The ruggedness of the terrain fended off many people, including Stephen Long, for whom one of the major summits was named. It wasn't until almost fifty years later that John Wesley Powell would ascend to the top of Long's Peak. Miners began arriving to the area in droves, in search of fortune. 
Visitors followed them, wishing to explore the magnificent beauty that they had seen in paintings brought back to the east by artists. This sudden rush of people to the area introduced the need to preserve this wilderness. In 1903, F.O. Stanley, of Stanley Steamer fame, spearheaded the effort to protect the wildflowers and wildlife of the Rocky Mountains. Several years later, Enos Mills furthered the quest, by proposing that the Rocky Mountains be named the tenth National Park. This would provide the stability of the nation to oversee that the area was not used inappropriately, and would stay in the same natural grand state of preservation. In the words of Mills, "In years to come when I am asleep beneath the pines, thousands of families will find rest and hope in this park."
