The Colorado Piedmont is the geologic term for an area along the base of the foothills of the Front Range in north central Colorado in the United States. The region consists of a broad hilly valley, just under 5000 ft (1500 m) in elevation, stretching north and northeast from Denver in the valley of the South Platte River, as well as along the Arkansas River valley southward from Colorado Springs. The region includes much of the populated and cultivated area of Colorado. Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... The Front Range is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States The Front Range is a mountain range in the United States on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, and on the western edge of the Great Plains. ... This is the article on the state. ... Colorado State Capitol Building City nickname: The Mile-High City Location of Denver in Colorado City-County Denver (coextensive) Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) Area   â€“Land   â€“Water 154. ... The South Platte River is a river in the states of Colorado and Nebraska in the western United States. ... Lower Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a tributary of the Mississippi which flows east and southeast through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and the state of Arkansas. ... Colorado Springs is a middle-sized city, located just east of the geographic center of the state of Colorado in the United States. ...

Description

The Colorado Piedmont is not only lower in elevation that the foothills, but is also slightly lower elevation than the High Plains to the east. According to current geologic theory, the Piedmont was formed approximately 28 million years, during the broad bowing of the North American Plate that lifted the continent between present-day Kansas and Utah to its present elevation of approximately 5000 ft (1500 m). This uplift resulted in increased streamflow and rapid erosion on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. The erosion scraped away the top layer of Upper Cretaceous sandstone (which still exists as the top layer on the High Plains), exposing the underlying layer of Pierre Shale, which had been formed during the Cretaceous, when a shallow sea covered present-day Colorado. It was during this time that the South Platte River, which had previously flowed eastward across the Plains, rerouted northward along the mountains to join the Cache la Poudre River. In some areas of the Piedmont, a loose veneer of Pleistocene gravel overlays older shale and which accumulated during glaciation in the mountains, when streams descending onto the Piedmont became overburdened with sediment. The Great Plains states. ... The North American plate is shown in brown on this map The North American Plate is a continental tectonic plate covering the continent of North America, extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Cherskiy Range in East Siberia. ... State nickname: The Sunflower State Other U.S. States Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) Official languages None Area 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² (15th)  - Land 81,815 mi²; 211,900 km²  - Water 462 mi²; 1,196 km² (0. ... State nickname: Beehive State Other U.S. States Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. ... Rocky Mountain National Park (photo courtesy of NPS) The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... The Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period (about 135 mya) to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65 mya). ... Red Sandstone in Wyoming Sandstone is an arenaceous sedimentary rock composed mainly of feldspar and quartz and varies in colour (in a similar way to sand), through grey, yellow, red, and white. ... Cache La Poudre River as it flows through Fort Collins, Colorado The Cache La Poudre River (sometimes called the Poudre River for short) is a tributary of the South Platte River in the state of Colorado in the United States. ... The Pleistocene Epoch is part of the geologic timescale, usually dated as 1. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...

The drop off from the Plains to the Piedmont is noticeable to motorists driving southward from Cheyenne, Wyoming on Interstate 25. At approximately Mile 293 northeast of Wellington, Colorado. mear the Larimer-Weld county line, the road drops noticeable from the Upper Cretaceous sandstone of the Plains to the lower shale of the Piedmont. The transition from High Plains to Piedmont is likewise accompanied by a change in agricultural from pasture lands on the Plains to cultivated fields in the Piedmont. Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne Cheyenne is the capital of Wyoming, a state of the United States of America. ... Interstate 25 is an interstate highway in the western United States. ... Wellington is a town located in Larimer County, Colorado. ... Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. ... Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. ...

In the 19th century, Piedmont region was inhabited primarily by the Southern Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes. From the earliest time of white settlement in the middle 19th century, the issue of water has been a controlling force in the economy of the region. The region was not widely settled in the early Colorado Territory, when mining was the basis of the economy. The use of irrigation in the Piedmont starting in the 1860s led to widespread homesteading and cultivation of wheat and sugar beets, as well as cattle and sheep ranching. Much of the irrigation water in the Piedmont comes from shallow wells that tap the layers of Pleistocene gravel. Water diversion projects, locally from the Cache la Poudre and other rivers, as well as the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, also supply needed water to the region. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Scabby Bull, Arapaho 1806 Arapaho camp, ca. ... Cheyenne lodges with buffalo meat drying, 1870 The Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains, closely allied with the Arapaho and loosely allied with the Lakota (Sioux). ... The Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, and New Mexico territories in 1860 The Colorado Territory was a historic, organized territory of the United States that existed between 1861 and 1876. ... Irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara Irrigation (in agriculture) is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops. ... Events and trends Italian unification under King Victor Emmanuel II. Wars for expansion and national unity continue until the incorporation of the Papal States (March 17, 1861 - September 20, 1870). ... A homestead is: A farm with the buildings around it, see homestead (buildings) Ones legal residence, see homestead (law) An area measure of 160 acres (650,000 m²), see homestead (area) and Homestead Act To homestead is to establish ownership of previously unowned property (usually but not exclusively land... Species T. boeoticum T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat (Triticum spp. ... Two sugar beets - the one on the left has been cultivated to be smoother than the traditional beet, so that it traps less soil. ...

References

• Roadside Geology of Colorado, Halka Chronic, Mountain Press Publishing (1980)