Pikes Peak Framed, Colorado Postcard

"Pikes Peak Framed, Colorado" by Catherine Sherman. Magnificent Pikes Peak is visible through a window in the geologic formation "The Siamese Twins" in "Garden of the Gods" park in Colorado. To catch this view is worth the hike. The Siamese Twins trail is a half-mile mile loop trail that offers spectacular views of Pikes Peak and unique rock formations. Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The 14,115-foot (4,302.31 meters) fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, 12 miles (19 kilometers) west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The mountain is named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike (though he was unable to reach the summit). The summit is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude Garden of the Gods (Arapaho: Ho3o’uu Niitko’usi’i) is a public park located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1971. The outstanding geologic features of the park are the ancient sedimentary beds of deep-red, pink and white sandstones, conglomerates and limestone that were deposited horizontally, but have now been tilted vertically and faulted into "fins" by the immense mountain building forces caused by the uplift of the Rocky Mountains and the Pikes Peak massif. Erosion and glaciation further shaped the formations.