The name Devil’s Backbone likely conjures up intimidating images for those who aren’t familiar with the site. However, the owner of this title is nothing sinister.

In fact, it’s a popular outdoor recreation area in Loveland, not too far from Colorado State University. Named for its main attraction — a row of knobby rocks sticking up into the horizon — the Devil’s Backbone Open Space attracts a wide variety of visitors. While it is undoubtedly interesting visually, the story behind its formation is where the real intrigue lies.

“The age of the sedimentary units exposed at Devil’s Backbone ranges from Permian in age, roughly (250 million to 300) million years ago … to Upper-Cretaceous — about 90 million years.” – John Singleton, structural geologist and associate professor

Let’s start at the very beginning. Several million years ago, a seashore was depositing sand and gravel in the area where this formation is today. Later on, these sediments were pressed down and cemented together, creating the layers of sedimentary rock now known as the Dakota Group.

Geologic processes are known to take a fair chunk of time, and this was no exception. There are four distinct layers visible in the Open Space currently.

“The age of the sedimentary units exposed at Devil’s Backbone ranges from Permian in age, roughly (250 million to 300) million years ago … to Upper-Cretaceous — about 90 million years,” said John Singleton, structural geologist and associate professor in the Warner College of Natural Resources. This explains the sandstones, shales and conglomerates that make up Devil’s Backbone, but a lot more had to happen to form the landscape seen currently.

Sedimentary strata like the Dakota Group are known to be horizontally oriented when they originally form. However, with enough pressure, rocks will bend into a fluctuating pattern, similar to a sine wave. Two main types of folds are created during this process. The ones that open downward, resembling an arch, are called anticlines. The Dakota Group was bent into this type of fold by the Laramide Orogeny, a 55 million to 75 million-year-old mountain-building event also responsible for the formation of the Rocky Mountains, Singleton said.

Following the Laramide Orogeny folding event, weathering and erosion took place, eating away most of the anticline until only the very bottom remained. This forms what is known geologically as a hogback, characterized by an almost-vertical fin of hard rock that sticks up from the ground. The reason for the spine-like appearance of Devil’s Backbone, Singleton said, can be attributed to this weathering process, in which softer layers of the rock are eaten away first, leaving their tougher counterparts behind.

But the forces that created the iconic hogback were nothing small. In fact, Devil’s Backbone is related to a much larger geologic formation, known as the Dakota Hogback. Dinosaur Ridge is another outdoor area dedicated to this sizable formation. Located in the Denver area, it is known for an abundance of tracks belonging to dinosaurs, among other animals, said Amanda Rea, Dinosaur Ridge education, camp and collections manager. Though many miles away, the rock outcrops there are also comprised of the Dakota Group and were exposed because of the same process.

“The Dakota Hogback runs from Southern Wyoming all the way through New Mexico,” Rea said. This being said, the Devil’s Backbone is a unique outcrop.

In geologic news much more applicable to modern times, Devil’s Backbone wasn’t always an area of conservation like it is today. As said by Julie Enderby, education and volunteer supervisor with Larimer County Natural Resources, before it became an open space, the area belonged to Alfred Wild. Under him, it was mined for gypsum, a soft mineral commonly used in plaster.

It was only later on in the 1990s when the formation was recognized to be a landscape worth preserving, that it was acquired by Larimer County and turned into an Open Space, Enderby said. The area now sports several trails that show off unique geologic features with signage for visitors to learn about the land along the way.

Reach Hayley Bisant at science@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.