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n <br />u <br />Geologically, the base material upon which the area is built is <br />Pre-Cambrian rock that was eroded into vast layers of flat sediment. These <br />layers were then uplifted and re-eroded resulting in a series of sediments <br />that have been left over a period of millions of years. <br />Late in the Jurassic period, Colorado was submerged. During the <br />moist environment marine and plant life flourished. The fossil remains <br />of plants and marine life became the coal and oil deposits that cover this <br />region. During the Cretaceous period the land was uplifted and the Piceance <br />and Axial basins were created. Underlying these basins are oil, oil shales, <br />and coal deposits left by organic matter buried in the region. <br />The Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era saw a period of mountain <br />building called the Laramide Orogeny. The Rocky Mountains, as we know them, <br />• were formed during this epoch. <br />Recent geologic events have created the landforms that are currently <br />known. These are a result of natural erosion by wind, water, and landslides. <br />Man-made features, such as mines and roads, have changed the landscape. <br />Man's use and occupation of the land is evident in the change that he has <br />made (Athearn, 1977) . <br />2.0 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW <br />Man has used the land of northwestern Colorado for approximately <br />10,000 years prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The northwestern corner <br />of the state was populated basically by three Indian tribes, the largest <br />tribe being the Ute. The most important tribe in the area was the Arapaho, <br />who were the plains natives. They often used North and Middle Parks as <br />summer hunting grounds. The third tribe in the area was the Shoshoni. <br />Other tribes that had minor impact on the area include the Cheyenne, the <br />. Navajo, and, to some extent, the Apache. These people were ncmadic hunters <br />TI,B-8 <br />