U4W1 Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park

Chapter 1 The Park Have you ever seen the Rockies? That's what most people call the Rocky Mountains. The Rockies are part of a huge mountain range. They stretch from Alaska all the way down to New Mexico. That's a really long way! The Rockies are 300 miles wide in some places. They are more than 3, 000 miles long. Only the Andes Mountains in South America are longer. The Rockies march up North America.

In the United States, the Rockies extend through several states in the western region. Part of the Rocky Mountains runs through Colorado. At Rocky Mountain National Park, you can get a close-up view of the mountains. You can learn what makes the mountains, and the park, so special. Jasper Banff Glacier Yellowstone Rocky Mountain Several national parks are found in the Rockies.

The park is a good place to study three mountain ecosystems, or life zones. Each zone covers a different elevation, or height, on the mountains. The zones also have different plants, animals, and climates. Alpine Tundra 11, 000 feet. Subalpine 9000 feet Montane 6, 000 feet Fact Rocky Mountain National Park was founded in 1915. It covers 415 square miles. It is a biosphere reserve, which means all the animals and plants in the park are protected. This shows the elevation range of each mountain life zone.

Chapter 2 The Montane Zone Let's take a closer look at the three life zones of Rocky Mountain National Park. We'll begin our study down low, at the bottom of the mountains. This location is the montane life zone. The montane starts at about 6, 000 feet above sea level. It continues up to about 9, 000 feet. These ponderosa pines thrive in the montane climate.