THE FUTURE

Red Rocks Amphitheatre as we know it today is the result of billions of years of geological processes.  It all began as layers of sediment piled up, compacted and were eventually solidified.  About 100 million years ago, these massive ancient plates compressed together, uplifting the Rocky Mountains.  Since then, many different forces have begun to change the shape of Red Rocks resulting in what we see today.  Physical, mechanical and chemical weathering processes have all worked their part in order to shape the rocks.  These processes, including erosion, have smoothed the rocks and continue to weather the physical features.

Looking 1000 years into the future there will probably not be very much noticeable change to the area.  Considering the Earth is over 4 billion years old, geologically speaking 1000 years is not very much time at all.  All of the processes described in past blog posts will continue to affect the physical development and destruction of the area, however the results will not be very noticeable.  The rocks will continue to wear down, however it will most likely be on a small level.

10,000 years into the future, the landscape will look vastly different from what we see today.  Large chunks of the monolith will have broken off from centuries of intense weathering.  It will most likely be too short of a time before more uplift is able to occur, however, it is not out of the question.  The change of seasons will affect the rocks through frost weathering, and vegetation will begin to grow through the cracks.  The pressure of roots from future vegetation will also begin to deteriorate the amphitheater. Red Rocks will be recognizable, however if it is not kept up by humans and nature takes its course, it will be overgrown and look like ancient ruins after centuries of weathering.

In 10,000 years the perfectly shaped red rocks seats will no longer be able to hold concert goers.  Frost weathering will crack the laid cement and other weathering processes will crack and mangle the rows.  Years of weathering will eventually carry everything man-made to the bottom of the hill.

Vegetation such as this may be a common site throughout the inside of the amphitheater.  Pressure from the roots of trees and shrubs will weather the rocks causing changes in the landscape.

1,000,000 years into the future Red Rocks Amphitheatre will be dust in the wind.  Perhaps remnants of the monoliths will exist, but much of the current rock in the seating area and stage will be washed miles east toward Denver by erosion   Rocks will be uplifted through faulting, others will be broken down by physical and mechanical weathering. Though it will look much different, it will actually be fairly similar to what it is today.  The rocks will still be mostly all sandstone and gneiss, however anything that is currently exposed will be broken down exposing new (old) layers of rock.

Sources:
http://www.redrocksonline.com/ABOUTUS/HistoryGeology.aspx
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3408/3341945290_05d4b22791_z.jpg
http://redrockcanyonopenspace.org