Week 2 - Igneous

Pikes Peak (Courtesy of summitpost.org)

This week my family and I traveled to Pikes Peak in Colorado. Just about an hour West of Denver, it is an easy trip to take. The view is breath taking, the sun is intense, and the air quite a bit thinner. A native to Colorado, I am interested in getting to know my home state better. By the time I began travelling, I was in the service.

Pike's Peak is not the oldest geological structure in Colorado at one billion years old. The peak is formed by intrusive igneous rock called pluton. When magma solidifies, it forms igneous rock, such as granite. Intrusive igneous rock, results from a slower cooling rate, intrudes into the surrounding rock, and is characterized by its crystal formation. They are referred to as plutonic rock, because of their underground association, which derives from the Greek god of the underworld, Pluto (Barkstrom, 2013).

References

Barkstrom, J. (2013). A geological tour of Denver, Golden, and Colorado's Front Range. Pericles Press. Retrieved from http://www.periclespress.net/geology.html

Simon, S. (2010). Cedar Mountain Pikes Peak Granite. Retrieved from https://www.summitpost.org/cedar-mountain-pikes-peak-granite/640183