Calhan Paint Mines Archeological District facts for kids
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Calhan Paint Mines Archeological District
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 Location in Colorado
Location in the United States
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| Location | Calhan, Colorado |
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| Area | 750 acres |
| NRHP reference No. | 00000783 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | July 14, 2000 |
The Calhan Paint Mines is a special place in El Paso County, near Calhan. It's called an archeological district because it has many old things from the past. This park is a cool mix of interesting rocks, history, and nature.
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Discover the Paint Mines Park
This park is home to many different plants and animals. You can find prairies, badlands, and wetlands all in one spot! This mix of habitats attracts animals like coyotes, mule deer, song birds, horned toads, falcons, rabbits, and hawks.
The park has about 4 miles of trails for you to explore. These trails can take you up over 500 feet high! The park covers 750 acres. You'll see cool rock formations called hoodoos. There are also colorful clay and tall, thin rock spires with sandstone caps. It's important to protect this area. The environment is delicate, and the rocks, plants, animals, and old artifacts are very special.
Many people visit the park each year. It's a great place for birdwatching and hiking. It's also like an outdoor classroom for studying geology, which is the science of rocks and Earth's history.
A Look into the Past: Archeology at the Paint Mines
Scientists have found clues here that show people lived in this area a very long time ago. They've found things like arrow heads and stone dart tips. This tells us that Native American people lived here in prehistoric times. The earliest signs of people are from about 9,000 years ago!
Artifacts found here belong to different ancient groups. These include the Apishapa culture, Cody complex, and Duncan complex. The colorful clay from the mines was very useful. People used it to make and paint pottery. They also used it as paint for special ceremonies. A type of clay called selenite clay was used to make arrowheads.
The natural "channels" in the land were clever tools. People used them to guide bison into a narrow gulch. This made it easier to hunt the bison with bows and arrows. Later, in the 1800s, Euro-American settlers also came to live on the park land.
The Calhan Paint Mines Archaeological District is a protected site. It was officially recognized by the National Park Service. The El Paso County Parks Department helps to take care of the land. They get help from the State Historical Fund to plan how to protect and study the area.
Gallery
Images for kids
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The park after some late spring rains.
