Ancient Denvers Scenes from the Past 300 Million Years of the Colorado Front Range

To find out what really does lie beneath our feet, scientists from Denver's Museum of Nature and Science dug a 2,256 foot well in 1999 and what they found was a surprisingly drastic array of landscapes and animal life-it the very same spot. In addition to what they found in the sediment at that site, geologists were able to look at other findings in the area to pull together an amazing assessment of the geological history of Denver's Front Range. Today, those who visit the Museum of Nature and Science can visit the Ancient Denvers exhibit and see Denver, today lined with homes as far as the eye can see, and as it has been throughout ancient history: at one time a vast ocean, a lush rainforest, and a mountain prairie. Take a closer look at Denver's rocky past and see just what these scientists uncovered in Ancient Denvers.

Kirk R. Johnson is the Sant Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. He received his PhD in geology and paleobotany from Yale University in 1989, and did postdoctoral research in the rainforests of northern Australia before joining the Denver Museum of Natural History in 1991, where he directed the installation of the museum's Prehistoric Journey exhibit. His research focuses on fossil plants, the environmental effects of the dinosaur-smiting asteroid, and the birth and death of biomes. Johnson lives in Washington, D. C.