Situated on the Uncompahgre Plateau (which itself is part of the larger Colorado Plateau), the Colorado National Monument is known for its colourful, wind-eroded sandstone formations, towering monoliths, and steep-walled canyons. The monument’s more interesting rock formations include the 600-ton Balanced Rock seen here, perched on a rock pedestal. Juniper, piñon pine, cactus, sagebrush, and wildflowers thrive in the canyons. Mule deer, bighorn, and coyotes inhabit the monument’s backcountry, which is accessible through a network of hiking trails. Petrified logs and dinosaur fossils have been exposed in the locality.

Carved by water and wind over millions of years, Colorado National Monument encompasses 32 square miles of red-rock canyons and sandstone monoliths, more than 1,000 feet above the Colorado River. A combination of upward lifts and erosion caused the chaos of formations here. Each layer visible in the striations of the canyon walls marks a time in the land's history. Fossils permit scientists to date these rocks back through the Mesozoic era of 225 million to 65 million years ago, and the Precambrian formation dates back 1.67 billion years.