Inconvenient rock features are nothing unusual on the Colorado Western Slope. Indeed, billions of dollars have been spent on infrastructure linking tiny towns and navigating the high cliffs and mountain passes of the region. However, the Earth has a way of reminding humans that our geography is still a work in progress. On May 24, 2019, a small natural disaster befell State Highway 145, north of Dolores, Colorado. Thousands of years of freeze-thaw cycles had widened cracks in the cliffs above the road, and finally caused a section of the…
