Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure near Morrison, Colorado, 10 miles west of Denver, where concerts are given in the open-air amphitheatre. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind the stage, a huge vertical rock angled outwards from stage right, several large outcrops angled outwards from stage left and a seating area for up to 9,525 people in between. The amphitheatre is owned and operated by the City and County of Denver, Colorado and is located in Red Rocks Park, part of the Denver Mountain Parks system.

History

In the early 1900s (decade), John Brisben Walker had a vision of artists performing on a stage nestled in the perfect acoustic surroundings of Red Rocks, which likely were used by the Ute tribe in earlier times. Walker produced a number of concerts between 1906 and 1910 on a temporary platform; and from his dream, the history of Red Rocks as an entertainment venue began.

Geologically, the rocks surrounding the Amphitheatre are representative of the Fountain Formation. Originally the place was known as the "Garden of the Angels" (1870s-1906), and then as "Garden of the Titans" during the Walker years (1906–1928). The park, however, had always been known by the folk name of "Red Rocks", which became its formal name when Denver acquired it in 1928. The amphitheatre's rocks are named "Creation Rock" on the north, "Ship Rock" on the south, and "Stage Rock" to the east. Red Rocks Amphitheatre was designed by Denver architect Burnham Hoyt.

Red Rocks (horse)

Red Rocks (foaled 8 April 2003) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse.

Background

Red Rocks is a bay horse with a white blaze and a long white sock on his left hind leg bred by Ballylinch Stud in County Kilkenny. He was sired by Galileo, a son of the fourteen-time Champion sire in Great Britain & Ireland, Sadler's Wells. Red Rocks' dam, Pharmacist, is a daughter of Machiavellian, a multiple Group One winner who was a son of North American Champion sire, Mr. Prospector.

Racing career

A non-winner as a two-year-old, Red Rocks made his racing debut in September 2005, finishing ninth in a Conditions stakes at Newbury Racecourse. In his only other starts, at Newmarket Racecourse he earned a third in a race for maidens then a second-place finish in the Houghton Conditions Stakes.

Three-year-old Red Rocks won a maiden stakes race in April 2006 at Windsor Racecourse and followed that up with another win in May's Fairway Stakes, a listed race at Newmarket. In June he was second in the King Edward VII Stakes at Ascot Racecourse then in July ran second to Rail Link in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France. After another second-place result in August's Great Voltigeur Stakes at York Racecourse, in September he was third in York's St. Leger Stakes. In November, Red Rocks was sent to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. There, under jockey Frankie Dettori, he won the most important race of his career, the Breeders' Cup Turf. His win came over a strong international field that included Better Talk Now, English Channel, Cacique, and the 2005 World Champion, Hurricane Run.

Red Rocks (SSSI)

Red Rocks (SSSI) is an area of sand dunes and reedbeds at the mouth of the Dee Estuary and to the west of Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, England.

The area is home to a variety of dune/reed plants the rarest of which was originally thought to be Mackay's horsetail, but has subsequently been re-identified as a new Equisetum hybrid with a very restricted distribution on north Wirral and Anglesey. This plant is found at the south end of the reserve along the edges of the dune slack.

The area is important for birds, with breeding reed warbler, sedge warbler and reed bunting in the reed bed, sallows and alders of the dune slack, common whitethroat, grasshopper warbler, skylark and European stonechats in the fixed dunes and their low scrub and burnet roses. 268 species of bird have been recorded, with up to 170 in a single year. The grasshopper warbler has recently been elevated to red status in the Birds of Conservation Concern list whilst reed bunting has amber status.

The site is an important breeding site for natterjack toads, a breed common in mainland Europe, but rare in the UK. Natterjack toads are confined to the most seaward and brackish areas of the reserve, with common frog, common toad and smooth newt dominating in the freshwater habitats. Common lizard is abundant in the fore dunes. The extremely rare moth, the sandhill rustic, is localised in the fore dunes.