The Rocky Mountains are the largest mountain range on the North American continent and stretch across the United States and Canada. This article focuses on the Rockies of the USA and only touches on aspects of the Rocky Mountains in Canada.
Colorado
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
New Mexico has
significant portions of the Rocky Mountains. In Canada they run
through parts of the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.
In the USA:
1 Aspen
2 Boise
3 boulders
4 Denver
5
Jackson
6 Park City
7 Salt Lake City
The attractions here are not the least bit urban. With the
exception of Denver, there are no large cities. Wyoming has a
smaller population than Alaska and prides itself on being the
least populated state in the US. Colorado is the highest
elevation state in the United States. For wildlife and
spectacular scenery in the national parks, go to Colorado. Many
of North America's most famous parks are located here, including
the geysers of Yellowstone, the glaciers of Montana, and the
moose and bighorn sheep that roam the high peaks of Rocky
Mountain National Park. Black and grizzly bears, wildcats, and
buffalo also inhabit the region.
Also of interest are the
old mining towns and cowboy frontier towns that once made up the
majority of the region's population. Many of the old gold mining
towns have been transformed into destinations for the tourist
economy, with tours leading into the old gold mines. But the
cowboy towns remain, and their way of life has not yet died out.
A good example is Leadville, Colorado. In addition, the local
culture, which includes indigenous Hispanic and American Indian
peoples, has a long and proud history in the mix.
Outdoor adventure is the main dish in the Rocky Mountains. There
are great hiking trails throughout, including valleys in the
eastern plains, canyons in the west, and alpine trails along the
spine of the Rocky Mountains. The trails are managed by the
National Park Service, State Park Service, and National Forest
and Grassland Service. Camping is widely available throughout
all wilderness areas of the Rocky Mountains. Outside of the
national parks, there are not even any regulations, and you can
drive into any national forest and pitch your tent wherever you
want. Hunting and fishing are strictly regulated by the Fish and
Wildlife Service to protect local animals from overfishing, but
these activities are widespread and there are several beautiful
areas to enjoy them.
The main attraction of the area is
the great downhill winter sports. Ski resorts such as Aspen and
Vail are among the best in the world and are moderately priced.
But there are plenty of other options that are more affordable
and still great. The ski season in the Rockies begins early in
late fall and extends into late spring. The snow quality is
excellent and the weather is usually warm and surprising.
Although sporting events are not as prominent as in other
parts of the country (due to the lack of large cities), Denver
has a vibrant sports culture and a great football team, the
Denver Broncos. If you're interested in the cowboy culture of
the Rocky Mountains, look for rodeos. The tourism is not half
bad, especially if you get away from the ski resorts and the
largest national parks.
By Airplane.
Denver International Airport (DEN IATA) is one of the
major hubs in North America, serving as a hub for Frontier Airlines,
Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. Domestic flights to other major
cities in the region, such as Cheyenne, Boise, Billings, and Jackson,
can be easily found from the American hub.
By Train.
Amtrak
operates two daily trains on routes through the Rocky Mountains.
Although trains are more expensive than airplanes and only marginally
faster than buses, these routes offer breathtaking views not found
elsewhere, as well as extra legroom and the ability to sleep in a
couchette. For areas with no or little other transportation options,
trains also serve as an important link to the outside world.
California Zephyr Operating between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay
Area, this line is perhaps Amtrak's most scenic, showcasing a variety of
American landscapes. It stops in Denver, the ski resort of Glenwood
Springs (near Aspen), and other smaller communities.
Empire Builder
Running between Chicago and Seattle/Portland, this train runs through
the northernmost part of Montana, stopping in several small communities.
The most famous are Whitefish and Glacier National Parks, popular ski
and outdoor destinations.
By Car.
Route 25 is the main
north-south highway leading out of New Mexico, while I-70, I-80, and
I-90/94 are the main east-west highways. Note that the passes are
sometimes closed in winter due to bad weather (snow), especially on
I-70. There are bus routes around Greyhound, but the distances are so
long that it is often cheaper to fly than to pay for gas and bus fare.
Getting around the Rocky Mountains can be a challenge. In winter,
mountain passes are icy, and many roads are dangerous if not impassable
under heavy snow. In addition, the higher elevations mean that more
gasoline is consumed per mile. Flying is often a very good option in
winter, as the Denver airport offers direct flights to ski resorts deep
in the mountains and to almost every city in the region.
In the
warmer months, however, driving is a wonderful way to explore the
region. Some of the country's most spectacular drives are in the high
mountains and endless wilderness. And because there is not much public
transportation in this vast, sparsely populated region, driving is
sometimes the only way to reach remote destinations.
The region
grew up around the railroad, but today rail travel is even less common
than in other parts of the United States. Nevertheless, the Denver area
has a decent commuter rail/light rail system, and during the ski season
the Winter Park Express runs to the slopes of Winter Park, Colorado.
Where can you find good dining in the Rocky Mountains? Given the vastness of the region, fine dining is generally found in urban areas like Denver, college towns like Laramie and Boulder, upscale, well-established lodges in the most popular national parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and terminal destinations like Jackson Hole, Aspen, Telluride and Vail are concentrated in ski resorts in the Fast food, chain restaurants, diners, and bars and grills are the norm in most of the Rocky Mountains. In the countryside, burgers and steaks are the norm, but limited to small, unique restaurants. However, elk and bison are also available.
Drinking, on the other hand, is a traditional Rocky Mountain activity and is often consumed. Colorado in particular has a very large number of microbreweries, and there is no shortage of good microbrews throughout the region. Liquor laws are much more lax than in other parts of the country (in general, there are fewer laws in this region), and you can buy beer at the drive-through counter!
While it is unlikely that you will be the victim of crime in the
Rocky Mountains, you must be vigilant about your safety in the
wilderness. Do not get too close to buffalo. Buffalo will attack your
car if provoked (a bull can smash a car in two if it wants to). Food
should be kept out of mothproof containers and out of reach, and food in
bear bags should be hung far enough away from the tent so nosy bears
don't check both in the same outing.
Winter cold is a most deadly
force. Always research conditions in advance and be well prepared. Many
people lose their lives every year in avalanches. Lightning is the most
common cause of death at high altitudes, and weather conditions at high
altitudes can change within 10 minutes.
If you are going to be
hiking for a few days, be sure to register with the local parks
department. That way they will know you are there and how they can
rescue you should you need help.
Respect private property. If
there is a no trespassing sign, it means it is off-limits. Many rural
residents are usually friendly to outsiders, but they carry firearms and
are not comfortable with unwelcome people trespassing on their land.
Huge mountains had already formed in North America 600-750 million
years ago, but they were almost completely eroded again in the following
400 million years. Only a few rock masses in the south still come from
that past time.
Today's Rocky Mountains were largely formed
during what geologists call the Laramic orogeny, which began about 70
million years ago and ended about 30-40 million years ago. After the
mountains were about as high as the Himalayas are today, parts of
Northwest America began to stretch and large parts of the crust in the
Southwest of the mountain plateau underwent a strong stretching process,
breaking them up into mountain ranges, plateaus and valleys. This area
is now referred to as the Basin and Range Province and includes the
Great Basin Desert and adjacent regions.
Between the late
Pleistocene and the Holocene (70,000-11,000 years ago) the Rocky
Mountains were largely glaciated.
The Rocky Mountains consist
mostly of metamorphic and igneous rock. Younger sedimentary rocks are
also found on the margins of the southern Rocky Mountains, and Tertiary
volcanic rocks are sometimes found in the San Juan Mountains and other
areas.
The width (east-west extent) of the mountain ranges varies
greatly. The Rocky Mountains in the US state of Colorado are the widest
at 500–600 km. From the Yellowstone area to the north, they split into
several mountain ranges, some with narrow widths of 50 to 120 km.
On average, the Rocky Mountains are 2000-3000 meters high. The
highest mountains in the Rocky Mountains are found in the area of the US
state of Colorado and its direct neighbors, where there are many peaks
over 4000 m. From Glacier National Park to the north, the peaks are
increasingly glaciated. Also in the northern half there are partially
extensive plateaus - the largest is the Great Divide Basin - which are
bounded by parallel mountain ranges. In the southern part, the mountain
forms mostly show more rounded erosion forms.
In the Yellowstone
National Park area, the earth's crust is sometimes very thin and
interspersed with magma. Thousands of volcanic objects such as geysers
and hot springs can be found there.
Westerly winds often prevail in the Rocky Mountains, driving clouds
up from the Pacific and causing them to accumulate and rain down. This
has resulted in above-average rainfall for the Pacific coast and drought
for the Great Plains beyond. The weather in the Rocky Mountains
themselves is accordingly mostly cloudy. An exception is the Yellowstone
area, where there can be weeks of fine weather.
The climate of
the Rocky Mountains is typical of the highlands. The average temperature
is around 6 °C. July is the hottest month at 28 °C, while January is the
coldest at −14 °C. The annual precipitation is estimated at 36 cm.
Summers in the Rocky Mountains are warm and dry with 15 °C and 15 cm
of precipitation. In July there are thunderstorms for an average of 18
hours. Especially in August, thunderstorms often lead to forest fires.
Winter, on the other hand, is very cold and wet, with −2 °C and 29
cm of precipitation. Snow layers of five to six meters are not uncommon;
in the north they can even be 15-18 meters. However, warm air masses
sometimes penetrate inland from the Pacific in winter. This wind is
called the Chinook and can cause sudden increases in temperature of 20
to 25°C.
For several years, forest dieback has been taking on alarming
proportions throughout the Rocky Mountains. The reason for this is a
massive increase in pests that benefit from the milder climate.
Coniferous trees, which are attacked by the mountain pine beetle, are
particularly affected. Although this does not kill the trees, it does
introduce a fungus that prevents the transport of water upwards, so that
the trees dry up. In the case of felled trees, the dark tissue areas
destroyed by the fungus can be clearly seen between the light-colored
heartwood and the bark. In the Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado),
the dead trees have already been removed from the campsites for safety
reasons, so that pioneer plants (fireweed, thistles, but also real wild
roses) are spreading there. This attracts z. B. moose and wapiti in the
immediate vicinity of the tourists.
Because of the huge areas and
the known dangers of pesticides on the ecosystem, no countermeasures are
currently being taken.
The vegetation of the Rocky Mountains can be divided into several
altitude levels. Except in the boreal reaches of Canada, where the
spruce-dominated northern plains coniferous forests give way to montane
forests of spruce and pine, the large expanses of lower montane areas of
the Rockies are generally covered with pine forests. Spruce and fir
species characterize the narrower areas up to the tree line.
Elevations of the Southern Rocky Mountains
The first two stages are
characterized by sandy soils and precipitation of around 500 mm. There
are hardly any dense forests, instead there are isolated trees with
strong undergrowth. The lowest mountain forest level at 1500-2200 m is
dominated by various juniper (Utah and one-seeded juniper) and pine
species (Colorado fir, coastal pine), the montane level up to 2700 m by
yellow pine and Gambel oak. Between 1800 and 2400 m one often encounters
rocky mountain larches.
From the third stage (2700–3200 m) the
mountain forest becomes denser and the undergrowth decreases. Therefore,
the northern, higher Rocky Mountains are much more densely forested than
the southern ones, which are often overgrown with grass to the top. The
rainfall at this level is about half that at the bottom two. Douglas
fir, American aspen and Colorado fir are common here.
The
subalpine zone extends to the tree line at about 3800 m. The trees there
grow less tall and the forests are spreading. The most common tree
species at this stage are the Engelmann, blue and white spruce, Scots
fir and Nevada stone pine and bristlecone pine.
On the last
vegetation level, the alpine tundra, small plants such as shrubs,
bushes, flowers and grasses grow. Among the woody plants, shrubby willow
species (e.g. arctic willows) are particularly well represented. The
perennials are dominated by the buttercup family (Ranunculus adoneus),
occupational herbs (Erigeron simplex), borage family (Eritrichum
aretioides) and succulent family (Rhodiola integrifolia); in the case of
the grasses, meadow grass and grass hair tress.
Towards the end of the last great ice age, an ice-free corridor
opened up between the glaciers of the Rocky Mountains and the Laurentide
Ice Sheet. In climate history and paleontology, there is a debate as to
whether and from when the corridor was passable for huntable game and
people following it. It is considered a possible migration path of
people into the interior of the continent during the settlement of
America.
As the glaciers continued to retreat, Native American
peoples inhabited the Rocky Mountains. At the time of the conquest of
North America by European colonists, the Absarokee, Apache, Arapaho,
Bannock, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Flathead, Lakota, Shoshone and Ute, among
others, lived temporarily or permanently in the Rocky Mountains or the
plateaus in between. Many of these peoples migrated to the plains in the
fall and winter to subsist on bison and other big game, and to the
mountains in the spring and summer to fish, hunt game, and gather
berries and roots.
Beginning in 1720, the first white trappers,
hunters, and mineral seekers invaded the Rocky Mountains. Soon the
mountains were known as a rich fur region. Fur trading companies such as
the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company in Canada and the
American Fur Company and the Missouri Fur Company (later: Rocky
Mountains Fur Company) in the USA fought fiercely for dominance in the
Rocky Mountains. White Rocky Mountain pioneers included William Henry
Ashley, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, John Colter, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Andrew
Henry, Jedediah Smith, and David Thompson. In 1793, Alexander MacKenzie
of the Hudson's Bay Company became the first white man to cross the
Rocky Mountains. Its route led from Fort Chipewyan across the Peace and
Fraser Rivers to what is now Vancouver. The Lewis and Clark Expedition
of 1804-1806 was the first scientific exploration of the mountains.
Botanists, zoologists, geologists, and other professionals began
collecting data about the Rocky Mountains. The expedition was the
beginning of the conquest of western North America. In the spring of
1824, Jedediah Smith discovered the South Pass in present-day Wyoming, a
crossing in the middle Rocky Mountains that could be crossed by caravans
and covered wagons. The pass became the focal point of all trade and
settler flows in the settlement of the American West between 1830 and
1869.
In 1847 the Mormons began to settle at the Great Salt Lake.
Gold was found in Colorado in 1858. As a result, the whites opened up
the area, built a transcontinental railway and opened Yellowstone, the
world's first national park. More and more white settlers settled in the
valleys and mining towns and pushed the Indian peoples into
reservations. Towards the end of the 19th century, other areas in the
Rocky Mountains were placed under protection. The US government defined
mining, logging, farming, and recreational zones. Camps and tent sites
became forts and farms and eventually villages and towns.
Mining and tourism are the main industries in the Rocky Mountains.
There is also livestock, forestry and some agriculture.
Mining
Valuable minerals such as lead, gold, copper, molybdenum, silver,
tungsten and zinc have been found in the Rocky Mountains. The plateaus
in between also contain coal, natural gas, petroleum and oil shale.
The Climax mine near Leadville, Colorado was the world's largest
producer of molybdenum for over 100 years (1879-1986). Molybdenum is
used as an alloying element for heat-resistant steel, for example in
turbines and power plants. The mine at Climax once employed over 3000
workers. The Coeur d'Alene mine in northern Idaho produces silver, lead
and zinc. Canada's largest coal mine is in the Crowsnest Coal Field near
Sparwood and Elkford in British Columbia, and there are also coal mines
near Hinton in Alberta.
In many places in the Rocky Mountains,
the exploitation of mineral resources led to contaminated and polluted
water and soil.
Tourism
With an average of four people per
square kilometer, the population density of the Rocky Mountains is quite
low and there are few cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants.
Nevertheless, the mountains are a popular holiday destination for people
who either want to enjoy the scenery or want to do sports. Millions of
tourists travel to the Rocky Mountains every year. In summer, the most
popular attractions in the US are Pikes Peak, Royal Gorge, Rocky
Mountain National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National
Park and Glacier National Park and in Canada Waterton Lakes National
Park, Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Yoho National Park,
Kootenay National Park, Mount Revelstoke National Park and Glacier
National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park. Mount Revelstoke
National Park and Glacier National Park lie west of the actual Rocky
Mountains in the Columbia Mountains, separated by the wide Rocky
Mountain Trench through which the Columbia River flows. In winter, on
the other hand, skiing is the main attraction. The main ski areas are
Aspen, Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge and Copper Mountain in Colorado;
Alta, Park City and Snowbird in Utah; Sun Valley in Idaho; Whitefish
Mountain Resort (formerly Big Mountain) and Big Sky in Montana; Lake
Louise and Sunshine Village in Alberta, and Fernie and Whistler in
British Columbia.