Florissant Colorado
Florissant, Colorado is found in Teller County, south central Colorado about 38 miles west of Colorado Springs. The community enjoys many visitors due to the attraction of the Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument, which became a part of the National Park system in 1969. There have been over 80,000 fossil specimens recovered from the Florissant lake bed which visitors may see on display in the museum. The Costello family who first arrived in 1870, established this town naming it after their hometown of Florissant, Missouri. They had been living in the Fairplay, Colorado area from 1863, but homesteaded a ranch in the newly settled Florissant area. The town has a library, a Heritage Museum, a large Fire Department and a Community Park in addition to the National Monument.
More Town Facts
| Region: South Central | County: Teller | |
| Latitude: 38.946111 | Longitude: -105.289722 | Elevation: 8,200 ft (2,499 m) |
The Florissant valley includes Thirtynine Mile Volcanic area and the exceptional prehistoric era volcanoes which erupted and buried the vegetation and redwood trees in volcanic ash. This resulted in petrified trees which may be seen today. When a lake filled in the valley, many thousands of insects, fish and plants settled into the sediment at the bottom, becoming beautifully preserved over time in the layers of shale which formed. Some of the earliest residents of the Florissant area were the Ute Indian tribes which roamed and 
hunted all over the South Park area. The Ute Indian Museum located in Montrose, Colorado recounts the history of Chief Ouray, his wife Chipita and the tribes which lived in this part of Colorado in the mid 1800′s. Local landmarks tell the story of the Ute tribes which made their home here in the Florissant area.
Florissant Local Attractions
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – Beneath a grassy mountain valley in central Colorado lies one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. Petrified redwood stumps up to 14 feet wide and thousands of detailed fossils of insects and plants reveal the story of a very different, prehistoric Colorado.
| Of course there are lots of other things to do and see in the area! Click on any of the links below to find more activities |
Florissant Photo Gallery
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Getting to Florissant
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