• Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
  William and Charles Bent, along with Ceran St. Vrain, built the original fort on this site in 1833 to trade with plains Indians and trappers. The adobe fort quickly became the center of the Bent, St.Vrain Company's expanding trade empire that included Fort St.Vrain to the north and Fort Adobe to the south, along with company stores in Mexico at Taos and Santa Fe. Located in southeast Colorado.
  
  
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
  The Black Canyon of the Gunnison's unique and spectacular landscape was formed slowly by the action of water and rock scouring down through hard Proterozoic crystalline rock. No other canyon in North America combines the narrow opening, sheer walls, and startling depths offered by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The national park now contains 30,300 acres. Located in Gunnison, Colorado.
  
  
• Colorado National Monument
  Established May 24, 1911, and on 20,453.93 acres, Colorado National Monument consists of geologic features including: towering red sandstone monoliths, deep, sheer-walled canyons, and a variety of wildlife (bighorn sheep, golden eagles, mule deer and mountain lions). Located in Fruita, Colorado.
  
  
• Colorado State Parks
  Colorado State Parks offers a variety of landscape to match the state's geography, from urban playgrounds to backcountry retreats, from mountain lakes to whitewater adventure.
  
  
• Curecanti National Recreation Area
  Three lakes, named for corresponding dams on the Gunnison River, form the heart of Curecanti National Recreation Area. Panoramic mesas, fjord-like lakes, and deep, steep and narrow canyons abound. Blue Mesa Lake is Colorado's largest body of water, and is the largest Kokanee Salmon fishery in the United States. Morrow Point Lake is the beginning of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and below, Crystal Lake is the site of the Gunnison Diversion Tunnel, a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
  
  
• Dinosaur National Park
  This is Echo Park, named by John Wesley Powell in 1869 during his first scientific expedition into the Colorado Plateau. It is here that the Yampa River, the last free flowing river in the Colorado River System, joins the Green River. This is home and critical habitat for the endangered peregrine falcon, bald eagle, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker. Indian rock art in Echo Park testifies to the allure these canyons and rivers had for prehistoric people. In 1825, William H. Ashley and his fur trappers were the first Europeans to enter Echo Park. In 1883, Patrick Lynch, a hermit, was the first to homestead in this canyon. Located in Colorado and Utah.
  
  
• Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
  Almost 35 million years ago, enormous volcanic eruptions buried the then-lush valley and petrified the redwood trees that grew there. A lake formed in the valley and the fine-grained sediments at its bottom became the final resting-place for thousands of insects and plants. These sediments compacted into layers of shale and preserved the delicate details of these organisms as fossils. The Florissant Fossil Beds are world-renowned, and in 1969 were set aside as a part of our National Park System; Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Located in Florissant, Colorado.
  
  
• Great Sand Dunes National Monument
  Nestled in southern Colorado, North America's tallest dunes rise over 700 feet high against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The wind shaped dunes glow beneath the rugged backdrop of the mountains, creating a memorable scene. This geologic wonderland, containing 39 square miles of dunes, became a national monument in 1932.
  
  
• Hovenweep National Monument
  Hovenweep National Monument protects some of the finest examples of ancient stone architecture in the southwest. The inhabitants of Hovenweep were part of the large farming culture which occupied the Four Corners region of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona from about 500 B.C. until nearly A.D. 1300. Located west of Cortez, Colorado.
  
  
• Mesa Verde National Park
  From approximately A.D. 600 through 1300 people lived and flourished in communities throughout the area, eventually building elaborate stone villages in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. Today most people call these sheltered villages "cliff dwellings." The cliff dwellings represent the last 75 to 100 years of occupation at Mesa Verde. Located in Colorado.
  
  
• Rocky Mountain National Park
  The park's rich scenery typifies the massive grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. Trail Ridge Road crosses the Continental Divide and looks out over peaks that tower more than 14,000 feet high. Wildlife and wildflowers call these 415.2 square miles (265,727 acres) of Colorado's front range, home.
  
  
• Yucca House National Monument
  Ruins of these large prehistoric Indian pueblos are as yet unexcavated. Currently not open to the public. Check status. Located in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.
  
  

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