COLORADO CAPSULES [interesting facts about Colorado]
FLORRISANT
More than 1,100 different spcies of insects have been found fossilized in the lakebed [near the town of Florissant, off US 24 west of Colorado Springs].
The town Florissant was named by a merchant who set up a trading post by the fossils. His hometown was Florissant, Missouri.
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument became an official monument when President Nixon signed [the] bill in August 1969.
Source: "Colorado Wise", THE DENVER POST, 18 FEBRUARY 1997.
THE JAMES A MICHENER LIBRARY ...
... at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, is named after the author who wrote, among many other books, CENTENNIAL.
Pulitzer prize-winner James A Michener is UNC's most famous alumnus and one-time faculty member. An item in THE DENVER POST, 22 February 1997, notes that Michener taught at the laboratory school of the Colorado State College of Education, now UNC, from 1936-1941. He earned his master's degree in social srudies there, and donated $1.22 million to the UNC library over the last 3 years.
COLORADO TANS!
"Ultraviolet A (UVA) light gives a tan but causes little harm to plants and animals. UVB, a shorter wavelength light, can damage plant tissues, cause skin cancer, and impair the immune syndrome.... In the mountains of Colorado,,the thinner air layer absorbs less UVB, so we face greater exposure risks here, according to the National Weather Service." -- Source: Diane Eicher, THE DENVER POST, 24 February 1997.
DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT
Most of the Jurassic-age dinosaurs known from North America come from the Morrison Formation at Dinosaur National Monument [in north-western Colorado]. The formation was named after Morrison, Colorado. The first major discovery of Morrison dinosaurs was made in 1877. -- Source: "Colorado Wise", THE DENVER POST, 25 February 1997.