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B O U N D L E S S L A N D S C A P E S & S P I R I T E D P E O P L EB O U N D L E S S L A N D S C A P E S & S P I R I T E D P E O P L E

ENERGY TRAIL

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Did you know a wealth of natural resources are found in northwest Colorado?

Deep below northwest Colorado’s canyons and rivers, forests and wilderness, mountains and parks, mesas and plateaus—lie geological expanses of fossil fuels and minerals. For centuries, coal, oil, natural gas, and oil shale have lured men to open cut and underground mines, as well as oil and gas fields.

Near Rangely, a vast pocket of trapped oil one mile down, ten miles long, and five miles wide makes the area the most productive oil field in Colorado; the world’s largest known source of oil shale is deposited in the Roan Cliff between Rifle and Grand Junction; near Oak Creek a “longwall” or coal cutting machine measuring 1,000-feet wide and more than three miles long, extracts coal with a 36 inch diameter shearer; above North Park 153 wells produce oil and natural gas.

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North Park Energy TrailNortheast-southwest section across North Park*

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Roan PlateauEnergy TrailSection parallel to I-70

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Axial to Yampa Energy Trail Section on U.S. 40*

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*Sections courtesy of Roadside Geology of Colorado, Mountain Press Publishing Company

In the mountains just west of Walden oil was first drilled in 1926—oil fields are still producing oil and natural gas.

Starting in the 1870s, coal enticed miners to this region and continues as a way of life today; and in other geological layers oil is pumped from a depth of 2,500 feet.

In the 1930s, technology enabled oilmen to drill over a mile down to oil pockets and open Colorado’s most productive oil field; just south of Douglas Pass look for Green River shale.

It is estimated that 1.8 trillion barrels of oil exists in the waxy compound or kerogen of the shale of the Roan Cliffs—the world’s largest known source.

Did you know miners and oilmen have been working in northwest Colorado for generations?

N O R T H W E S T C O L O R A D O C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E

N O R T H W E S T C O L O R A D O C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E

on the mountainsides where heat is close to the surface, and in winter steam rises in wisps along the seam. In 2002, this seam ignited the Coal Seam Fire which burned 12,000 acres between Glenwood Springs and New Castle.

Did you know oil fields near Rangely have been producing black gold since the early 1900s?

In 1902, a million and a half barrels of oil was produced from shallow wells. A major company, after drilling for two years made the first deep oil discovery, but drilling costs were prohibitive. It wasn’t until the 1930s that technology enabled deep well drilling of more than one mile down—with an average of 100 days—to reach oil. The first of these wells, the Raven-1 site can be visited from Hwy 64.

Did you know you can see layers of oil shale from I-70?

When traveling on I-70 look to the west—toward the Roan Cliffs—between Rifle and Parachute and you’ll see a dark brown layer of oil bearing strata called the Mahogany Ledge. Oil extraction of the waxy compound called kerogen in this strata requires that the shale be crushed and heated to 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil production averages over 27 gallons of oil per ton of rock.

Did you know a coal seam in Burning Mountain has been smoldering since 1899?

In the Grand Hogback just west of downtown New Castle a coal mine, ignited by methane gas, caught fire in 1899. The underground coal seam is still smoldering. Scars may be seen

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Photo courtesy of Ken Proper