Digital Database of a 3D Geological Model of the Denver Basin

This digital database release contains elevation surfaces on 24 surfaces representing the tops of geological formations in the Denver Basin. These surfaces were exported as raster data from Leapfrog software, in which the model was constructed. Inputs to the model include well top data compiled from state agencies, formation contacts extracted from the Stage Geological Map Compilation, and structural elevation contours from Colorado and Wyoming state agencies and USGS water studies. These data are not included in this release. However, the sources are documented in the included DataSources table to allow retrieval of source data, should it be desired by the user. Other Non-Spatial tables include a Description of Model Units, describing the geology of each formation included as a unit in the model, a Glossary of terms, and a GeoMaterialDict table with terms common to GeMS-formatted databases. The EntityAndAttribute_DataDictionary_DenverBasin.csv file provides a listing of all outputs included in this release. DenverBasinInputSummaryTable.csv documents settings used to build the model (boundary filter, snapping, data sources, etc.) Three faults were used in the construction of the model. The Rocky Mountain Front reverse fault cuts the model from north to south. The Hartville Fault terminates against the Rocky Mountain Front in Wyoming. Finally, the Laramie Fault of Wyoming forms the edge of the study area in the northwest of the model. These faults are included as grids of points in point feature classes. The Denver Basin is a sedimentary basin primarily located in northeastern Colorado, with portions in Wyoming, Nebraska, and Kansas. The basin is bounded by the Hartville Uplift in Wyoming, the Chadron and Cambridge Arches of Nebraska, the Las Animas Arch in Colorado and Kansas, and the Apishapa Uplift in Colorado. The fault-bounded Rocky Mountain Front forms the western boundary of the model. Thrust faulting and sediment loading associated with the Rocky Mountain Front created the asymmetric shape of the Denver Basin, with a foredeep centered near Boulder, Colorado. Broad changes in geology can be seen in this Denver Basin model, from a Paleozoic-dominated carbonate platform near the Las Animas Arch transitioning to Penn-Perm clastics shed off the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. Other geologic features of interest visible within the model include Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO, Garden of the Gods Park near Colorado Springs, and an interpretation of the Ralston Dike and associated Table Mountain volcanics near Golden, Colorado.