DENVER OF GREEN MOUNTAIN. 171 



GREEN MOUNTAIN. 



Position and form. — Green Mountain lies upon the plains between Golden 

 and Morrison and 9 miles south of west from Denver. It is a bald, massive 

 hill of smooth and gentle slopes, rising 1,200 feet above Bear Creek at 

 its southern base, and nearly as much above the western and northern 

 bases. Seen from Denver and corresponding points upon the plains it 

 appears to be a part of the foothills of the main range, but it is actually 

 separated from them by the zone, about 1 mile in width, in which the 

 upturned edges of all the sedimentary formations below the Denver are 

 exposed. The approaches on the north, east, and south are gradual up 

 to the base of the mountain proper, where there is a rather sudden 

 change to an angle of 15° to 20°. The massive appearance, as seen from 

 a distance, is somewhat deceptive, for the mountain is deeply scarred 

 on all sides by ravines which penetrate to its core, so that there is a 

 system of smooth, narrow, branching ridges. These deep indentations are 

 the heads of as many water courses, few of which are more than shallow- 

 drains when beyond the base of the steeper slopes. 



The surface of the mountain is thickly strewn with round bowlders, 

 which have weathered out of the underlying strata. As will be seen by 

 reference to the map, the entire mountain mass, with the exception of 

 a narrow band at its western base, is made up of strata belonging to 

 the Denver formation. Nowhere else is the thickness of these deposits 

 approximately indicated, and even here it is evident that an unknown 

 amount has Keen removed. The reason for the special preservation of 

 Green Mountain is not apparent. 



The Green Mountain profile. The smooth slopes characteristic of till' mass 



present tew actual rock outcrops, and the deep ravines afford only limited 

 exposures, but upon the western side of the mountain there is a hollow- 

 ing out of the usually even surface, hounded on the north and south by 

 minor ridges, and drained at the bottom by a little ravine. The steep 

 face at the hack of this hollow, the ridges on either side, and the ravine 

 below, combine to give a practically continuous section of strata extending 

 from near the summit down to the base of the steeper slopes, a vertical 



