Needle Rock

Location:     Delta County
Size:   80 acres
Designated:    October 1992
Land Manager:    Bureau of Land Management

Needle Rock towers 800 feet above the floor of the Smith Fork of the Gunnison River valley.  It originated as the throat of a large volcano about 28 million years ago (Miocene epoch) when molten rock intruded between existing sedimentary formations.  As the surrounding country rocks eroded over millions of years, the resistant igneous core was exposed.