Rocky Mountains

White Goat Wilderness Area, Rocky Mountains Alberta, Canada

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) from British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States. The highest peak is Mount Elbert, in Colorado, which is 14,440 feet (4,401 meters) above sea level. Mount Robson, at 12,972 feet (3,954 meters) is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The Rocky Mountain System is a United States physiographic region.

Geography and geology

Map showing approximate location of the Rocky Mountains.

The Rocky Mountains are commonly defined to stretch from the Liard River in British Columbia, down to the Rio Grande in New Mexico. The mountains can also be considered to run to Alaska or Mexico, but usually those mountains are considered to be part of the entire American cordillera, rather than part of the Rockies.

The younger ranges of the Rocky Mountains uplifted during the late Cretaceous period (140 million-65 million years ago), although some portions of the southern mountains date from uplifts during the Precambrian (3,980 million-600 million years ago). The mountains' geology is a complex of igneous and metamorphic rock; younger sedimentary rock occurs along the margins of the southern Rocky Mountains, and volcanic rock from the Tertiary (65 million-1.8 million years ago) occurs in the San Juan Mountains and in other areas. Millennia of severe erosion in the Wyoming Basin transformed intermountain basins into a relatively flat terrain. Examples of granitic intrusions of folded and faulted rocks of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age would include the Tetons and the other north-central ranges.

Periods of glaciation occurred from the Pleistocene Epoch (1.8 million-70,000 years ago) to the Holocene Epoch (fewer than 11,000 years ago). Recent episodes included the Bull Lake Glaciation that began about 150,000 years ago and the Pinedale Glaciation that probably remained at full glaciation until 15,000-20,000 years ago. Ninety percent of Yellowstone National Park was covered by ice during the Pinedale Glaciation. The "little ice age" was a period of glacial advance that lasted a few centuries from about 1550 to 1860. For example, the Agassiz and Jackson glaciers in Glacier National Park reached their most forward positions about 1860 during the little ice age.

Water in its many forms sculpted the present Rocky Mountain landscape. Runoff and snowmelt from the peaks feed Rocky Mountain rivers and lakes with the water supply for one-quarter of the United States. The rivers that flow from the Rocky Mountains eventually drain into three of the world's five oceans: the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean. These rivers include:

Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

• Arkansas River
• Athabasca River
• Colorado River
• Columbia River
• Fraser River
• Kootenay River
• Missouri River
• Peace River
• Platte River
• Rio Grande
• Saskatchewan River
• Snake River
• Yellowstone River

The Continental Divide is located in the Rocky Mountains and designates the line at which waters flow either to the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. Triple Divide Peak (8,020 feet/2,444 m) in Glacier National Park (US) is so named due to the fact that water which falls on the mountain reaches not only the Atlantic and Pacific, but the Arctic Ocean as well.

Human history

Since the last great Ice Age, the Rocky Mountains were a sacred home first to Paleo-Indians and then to the Native American tribes of the Apache, Arapaho, Bannock, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Crow. Flathead, Shoshoni, Sioux, Ute, and others. Paleo-Indians hunted the now-extinct mammoth and ancient bison (an animal 20% larger than modern bison) in the foothills and valleys of the mountains. Like the modern tribes that followed them, Paleo-Indians probably migrated to the plains in fall and winter for bison and to the mountains in spring and summer for fish, deer, elk, roots, and berries. In Colorado, along the crest of the Continental Divide, rock walls that Native Americans built for driving game date back 5,400-5,800 years. A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that Native Americans had significant effects on mammal populations by hunting and on vegetation patterns through deliberate burning.

Recent human history of the Rocky Mountains is one of more rapid change. The Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado — with a group of soldiers, missionaries, and African slaves — marched into the Rocky Mountain region from the south in 1540. The introduction of the horse, metal tools, rifles, new diseases, and different cultures profoundly changed the Native American cultures. Native American populations were extirpated from most of their historical ranges by disease, warfare, habitat loss (eradication of the bison), and continued assaults on their culture.

File:Rockies USA1.jpg

Colorado Rockies

The Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-06) was the first scientific reconnaissance of the Rocky Mountains. Specimens were collected for contemporary botanists, zoologists, and geologists. The expedition was said to have paved the way to (and through) the Rocky Mountains for European-Americans from the East, although Lewis and Clark met at least 11 European-American mountain men during their travels.

Mountain men, primarily French, Spanish, and British roamed the Rocky Mountains from 1720 to 1800 seeking mineral deposits and furs. After 1802, American fur traders and explorers ushered in the first widespread white presence in the Rockies. The more famous of these include Americans included William Henry Ashley, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, John Colter, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Andrew Henry, and Jedediah Smith. In 1832, Benjamin Bonneville led the first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains by using Wyoming's South Pass.

The Mormons began to settle near the Great Salt Lake in 1847. In 1859, gold was discovered near Cripple Creek, Colorado, and the regional economy of the Rocky Mountains was changed forever. The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, and Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872. While settlers filled the valleys and mining towns, conservation and preservation ethics began to take hold. President Harrison established several forest reserves in the Rocky Mountains in 1891-92. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt extended the Medicine Bow Forest Reserve to include the area now managed as Rocky Mountain National Park. Economic development began to center on mining, forestry, agriculture, and recreation, as well as on the service industries that support them. Tents and camps became ranches and farms, forts and train stations became towns, and some towns became cities.

Industry and development

Economic resources of the Rocky Mountains are varied and abundant. Minerals found in the Rocky Mountains include significant deposits of copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, silver, tungsten, and zinc. The Wyoming Basin and several smaller areas contain significant reserves of coal, natural gas, oil shale, and petroleum. For example, the Climax mine, located near Leadville, Colorado, was the largest producer of molybdenum in the world. Molybdenum is used in heat-resistant steel in such things as cars and planes. The Climax mine employed over 3,000 workers. The Coeur d'Alene mine of northern Idaho produces silver, lead, and zinc. Canada's largest coal mines are in the Crowsnest Coal Field near Sparwood, British Columbia and Elkford, British Columbia; additional coal mines exist near Hinton, Alberta.

Colorado Rockies from space

Abandoned mines with their wakes of mine tailings and toxic wastes dot the Rocky Mountain landscape. In one major example, eighty years of zinc mining profoundly polluted the river and bank near Eagle River in north-central Colorado. High concentrations of the metal carried by spring runoff harmed algae, moss, and trout populations. An economic analysis of mining effects at this site revealed declining property values, degraded water quality, and the loss of recreational opportunities. The analysis also revealed that cleanup of the river could yield $2.3 million in additional revenue from recreation. In 1983, the former owner of the zinc mine was sued by the Colorado Attorney General for the $4.8 million cleanup costs; five years later, ecological recovery was considerable.

Agriculture and forestry are major industries. Agriculture includes dryland and irrigated farming and livestock grazing. Livestock are frequently moved between high-elevation summer pastures and low-elevation winter pastures.

Human population is not very dense in the Rocky Mountains, with an average of four people per square kilometer (10 per square mile) and few cities with over 50,000 people. However, the human population grew rapidly in the Rocky Mountain states between 1950 and 1990. The 40-year statewide increases in population range from 35% in Montana to about 150% in Utah and Colorado. The populations of several mountain towns and communities have doubled in the last 40 years. Jackson Hole, Wyoming, increased 260%, from 1,244 to 4,472 residents, in 40 years.

Tourism

Every year the scenic areas and recreational opportunities of the Rocky Mountains draw millions of tourists. The main language of the Rocky Mountains is English. But there are also linguistic pockets of Spanish and Native American languages.

People from all over the world visit the sites to hike, camp, or engage in mountain sports. In the summer, main tourist attractions are

Snowmelt runoff fills a reservoir in the Rocky Mountains near Dillon, Colorado.

• Pikes Peak
• Royal Gorge
• Rocky Mountain National Park
• Yellowstone National Park
• Grand Teton National Park
• Glacier National Park (U.S.)

Canadian National Parks in the mountain range are

• Banff National Park
• Glacier National Park (Canada)
• Jasper National Park
• Kootenay National Park
• Mount Revelstoke National Park
• Waterton Lakes National Park
• Yoho National Park

Glacier National Park (U.S.) and Waterton Lakes National Park border each other on the U.S./Canadian border and collectively are known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

In the winter, skiing is the main attraction. The major ski resorts are:

Snowpack accumulation at 14,255 ft. on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park (photo courtesy of USDA).

• Colorado:
  • Aspen
  • Vail
  • Keystone
  • Breckenridge
• Utah:
  • Alta
  • Snowbird
  • Park City
• Sun Valley, Idaho
• Montana:
  • Big Mountain
  • Big Sky
• Alberta:
  • Lake Louise
  • Sunshine Village
• Fernie, British Columbia

The adjacent Columbia Mountains in British Columbia and Idaho contain major resorts such as Schweitzer, Panorama and Kicking Horse.

Flora and Fauna

Besides the beauty of the Rocky Mountain landscape, these mountains are populated not just by people, but also some of the most captivating animals to be found anywhere. Many a traveler has encountered wild big horn sheep alongside a highway such as in the Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. For campers throughout the mountains, encounters with black bears can sometimes present a challenge. It is important to be aware of the behavior of some wild animals so as not to unnecessarily attract them for a close encounter. It can be a great temptation to try to draw close to a wild animal but it not a safe or wise practice. The powerful Grizzley bear, black bear, Moose, varities of deer, Elk and the mountain cougar all live in this mountain range.

Climate

File:Rocky Mountains.aerial view.no snow.JPG

Aerial view of the Colorado Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains have a highland climate. The average temperature in the Rockies per year is 43 °F (6 °C). July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 82 °F (28 °C). In January, the average monthly temperature is 7 °F (−14 °C), making it the coldest month in the Rockies. The average precipitation per year is approximately 14 inches (360 mm).

Summers in the Rockies are warm and dry, because the western fronts impede the advancing of water-carrying storm systems. The average temperature in summer is 59 °F (15 °C) and the average precipitation is 5.9 inches (150 mm). Winter is usually wet and very cold, with an average temperature of 28 °F (−2 °C) and average snowfall of 11.4 inches (29.0 cm). In spring, the average temperature is 40 °F (4 °C) and the average precipitation is 4.2 inches (107 mm). And in the fall, the average precipitation is 2.6 inches (66 mm) and the average temperature is 44 °F (7 °C).

External links

• USGS Biology web site about Rocky Mountains (public domain source)]
• U.S. Geological Survey website on the Rocky Mountains
• Blue Planet Biomes - Rocky Mountains
• Rocky Mountain National Park - National Parks Gallery

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