Video
The National Parks and Monuments of Colorado, ca. 1950s
Descriptive Transcript
US Department of the Interior seal featuring a bison.
Title card: The National Park Service Presents
Title card: The National Parks and Monuments of Colorado
Colorado state flag flying in the breeze. Close up views of white flowers.
A large wooden sign reads, “Entrance Mesa Verde National Park Checking Stations 200 Yards US Dept of Interior National Park Service” with arrow pointing to the left.
Views of hills across autumnal vegetation. Cliff dwellings on a hill with a dusting of snow. Close up of pinecones on a tree pulls back to reveal a road. A car drives along the road. A sign reads Spruce Tree. A view across yellow aspen trees to a green hill. Close up of autumnal vegetation.
A small wooden sign reads, “Museum Information” with an arrow pointing to the right. Crowds of people file past a building. A wooden sign reads, “Spruce Tree Ruin” with an arrow pointing right. People walk along a trail. View of cliff dwellings as a ranger and visitor come into view.
Car driving along a road flanked by autumnal vegetation. A man stands on a rock ledge looking out over a canyon with flat topped rock outcrops.
Scene changes to a sign reading “View Best View of Cliff Palace Walk 300 Feet” with an arrow pointing right. The cliff dwelling can be seen under a rock outcrop behind the sign. Close up of the sign as people file past. Views of the Cliff Palace with wooden ladders in place.
Scene changes to a sign reading “Far View Ruin.” Views of low walls build of stone. One wall includes a stone with a spiral pattern etched in it. Visitors are seen on the remains of the building walls in the background. Close up of plants of daisies and other white or yellow flowers.
A large wooden sign reading “Hovenweep National Monument.” Views across the remains of various stone buildings.
A large wooden sign reading, “Yucca House—A “Reserve” Monument Is Not Excavated. Views of stone structures peeking out of a hillside with mountains in the background.
A large wooden sign reading, “Entrance Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument US Department of the Interior National Park Service.” Views down a rocky canyon dotted with trees. A river is seen in the bottom of the canyon in the distance. Close up of rock features showing different colored bands of rock.
A wooden sign reads “Painted Wall Overlook Depth 1950 Feet” with an arrow pointing right. Views of the rock walls of the canyon. The river in the bottom of the canyon. Clouds settling above the canyon. Tow rangers walking along a trail along the canyon walls.
A large wooden sign reads, “Entrance Colorado National Monument US Department of the Interior National Park Service.” View of a canyon. Two men walking along a train. Views of rock formations and trees.
A small wooden sign reads, “Red Canyon Overlook.” Two men use binoculars to look at a large canyon, point at different features, and walk along a trail.
Intertitle card: Great Sand Dunes National Monument.
Different views of large sand dunes. A truck and two men are on the dunes. Shadows cast by the dunes. A man walks along the top of a high dune. A man climbs a tall dune. Distant views of the sand dunes. Views of chipmunks.
Intertitle card: Dinosaur National Monument Colorado Utah. A man carrying a camera tripod walks near a quarry. Views of rock outcrops. A river runs through a steep canyon.
Large hanging wooden sign that reads, “United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Thompson River Entrance Rocky Mountain National Park.” Bighorn sheep on a rock. Five bighorn sheep moving along the rocks on a mountain. Various views of bighorn sheep.
Four people walk along a trail. The camera pans up to rocky mountaintops. Scene changes to pine trees around a lake, panning up to the mountains and cloudy sky. A woman wearing a backpack walking along a trail then the camera pans up to a mountain surrounded by clouds. A person in a red shirt kneeling among wildflowers on a hill with a snow-dusted peak in the background. View of trees, mountains, and a river. Close up of pink flowers. Scenes of deer, including buck with 5-point antlers. Distant views of a herd of elk in a field. A bull elk soundlessly trumpets as the others graze. Deer walking along a ridge line. Views of yellow aspen trees, pine trees, and snow-capped mountains under cloudy blue skies. A road through aspen trees. A forest of yellow aspen trees. Mountain peaks surrounded by low clouds.
A road through snow-dusted trees. A close-up of a river with snow-covered tree branches overhanging it. Varying scenes of snow-covered trees, road, and mountains.
Description
Silent color film featuring eight national parks and monuments: Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, Yucca House, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado, Great Sand Dunes, Dinosaur, and Rocky Mountain. Images of signs distinguish the parks. Subjects include cliff dwellings, scenic views, autumnal and winter scenes, wildlife (deer, elk, and chipmunks), and a few visitors. NPS film in the public domain.
Duration
18 minutes, 47 seconds
Credit
NPS History Collection (HFCA 2486)
Date Created
08/28/2023
Copyright and Usage Info
Tags
- harpers ferry center
- nps history collection
- historic film
- mesa verde national park
- hovenweep national monument
- black canyon of the gunnison national park
- colorado national monument
- great sand dunes national park and preserve
- dinosaur national monument
- rocky mountain national park
- yucca house national monument
- cliff dwelling
- museum collection
- museum archives