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89-733: The forest is located in the Rocky Mountains , straddling the continental divide in the Front Range west of Denver . It was established on July 1, 1908, by President Theodore Roosevelt and named for the Arapaho tribe of Native Americans which previously inhabited the Colorado Eastern Plains . The forest includes part of the high Rockies and river valleys in the upper watershed of the Colorado River and South Platte River . The forest

178-424: A body length (excluding the tail) of 20–35 cm (8–14 in). They are covered with short, thick fur of medium to dark brown color. Their long tails, covered with scales rather than hair, are laterally compressed and generate a small amount of thrust, with their webbed hind feet being the main means of propulsion , and the unique tail mainly important in directional stability. Muskrats spend most of their time in

267-536: A dense population. Most of the highest summits of the Rocky Mountains are in Colorado , with that state having an average elevation in excess of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). Public parks and forest lands protect much of the mountain range, and they are popular tourist destinations, especially for hiking, camping, mountaineering, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, snowmobiling, skiing, and snowboarding. The name of

356-553: A major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America . The Rocky Mountains stretch 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Canada , to New Mexico in the Southwestern United States . Depending on differing definitions between Canada and the U.S., its northern terminus is located either in northern British Columbia 's Terminal Range south of

445-523: A mixture of white pine, fir, and spruce that appear as shrub-like krummholz . Finally, rivers and canyons can create a unique forest zone in more arid parts of the mountain range. The Rocky Mountains are an important habitat for a great deal of well-known wildlife, such as wolves , elk , moose , mule and white-tailed deer , pronghorn , mountain goats , bighorn sheep , badgers , black bears , grizzly bears , coyotes , lynxes , cougars , and wolverines . North America's largest herds of elk are in

534-431: A relatively flat terrain. The Tetons and other north-central ranges contain folded and faulted rocks of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age draped above cores of Proterozoic and Archean igneous and metamorphic rocks ranging in age from 1.2 billion (e.g., Tetons) to more than 3.3 billion years ( Beartooth Mountains ). There are a wide range of environmental factors in the Rocky Mountains. The Rockies range in latitude between

623-795: A similar relationship to tourism promotions by the Great Northern Railway . While settlers filled the valleys and mining towns, conservation and preservation ethics began to take hold. U.S. President Benjamin Harrison established several forest reserves in the Rocky Mountains in 1891–1892. In 1905, U.S. 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

712-548: A winter population of more than 200 birds. Golden eagles , several species of hawks , and an occasional prairie falcon circle the skies above in search of food. Their prey includes Richardson's ground squirrel , white-tailed prairie dog , and white-tailed jackrabbit . Badger , muskrat , beaver , coyote , and pronghorn are commonly observed. It is also possible to see a raccoon , red fox , mink , long-tailed weasel , or porcupine . As many as 400 mule deer have wintered here and up to 200 elk are frequently seen during

801-568: A word of Algonquian (possibly Powhatan ) origin, muscascus (literally "it is red", so called for its colorings), or from the Abenaki native word mòskwas , as seen in the archaic English name for the animal, musquash . Because of the association with the " musky " odor, which the muskrat uses to mark its territory, and its flattened tail, the name became altered to musk-beaver; later it became "muskrat" due to its resemblance to rats. Similarly, its specific name zibethicus means "musky", being

890-401: A year. Muskrat populations appear to go through a regular pattern of rise and dramatic decline spread over a six- to 10-year period. Some other rodents, including famously the muskrat's close relatives, such as the lemmings, go through the same type of population changes. Native Americans have long considered the muskrat to be an important animal. Some predict winter snowfall levels by observing

979-671: Is ᐊᓭᓂᐓᒉ Aseniwuche . The Rocky Mountains are the easternmost portion of the expansive North American Cordillera . They are often defined as stretching from the Liard River in British Columbia south to the headwaters of the Pecos River , a tributary of the Rio Grande , in New Mexico. The Rockies vary in width from 110 to 480 kilometres (70 to 300 miles). The Rocky Mountains contain

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1068-403: Is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over various climates and habitats. It has crucial effects on the ecology of wetlands, and is a resource of food and fur for humans. Adult muskrats weigh 0.6–2 kg ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 – 4 + 1 ⁄ 2  lb), with

1157-946: Is largely in Grand and Clear Creek counties, but spills over into neighboring (in descending order of land area) Gilpin , Park , Routt , Jackson , and Jefferson counties. There are local ranger district offices located in Granby and Idaho Springs . There are six officially designated wilderness areas within Arapaho National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System . Four are partially in neighboring National Forests, and one also extends onto National Park Service land: The ponds also produce many insects and other invertebrates needed by most female waterfowl for successful egg laying. These insects also serve as an essential food item for

1246-627: Is natural gas that arises from coal, either through bacterial action or through exposure to high temperature. Coalbed methane supplies 7 percent of the natural gas used in the U.S. The largest coalbed methane sources in the Rocky Mountains are in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and Colorado and the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. These two basins are estimated to contain 38 trillion cubic feet of gas. Coalbed methane can be recovered by dewatering

1335-694: Is no single monolithic ecosystem for the entire Rocky Mountain Range. Instead, ecologists divide the Rockies into a number of biotic zones . Each zone is defined by whether it can support trees and the presence of one or more indicator species . Two zones that do not support trees are the Plains and the Alpine tundra . The Great Plains lie to the east of the Rockies and is characterized by prairie grasses (below roughly 550 m or 1,800 ft). Alpine tundra occurs in regions above

1424-530: Is only slightly longer. It is almost certainly the most prominent and heaviest member of the diverse family Cricetidae , which includes all voles , lemmings , and most mice native to the Americas, and hamsters in Eurasia. The muskrat is much smaller than a beaver ( Castor canadensis ), with which they often share a habitat. Muskrats are covered with short, thick fur, which is medium to dark brown or black, with

1513-594: Is particularly concerning in areas with delicate ecosystems, where they can outcompete or displace native species. Several European countries have implemented control measures and eradication programs to manage muskrat populations and mitigate their impact. Muskrats normally live in families consisting of a male and female and their young. During the spring, they often fight with other muskrats over territory and potential mates. Many are injured or killed in these fights. Muskrat families build nests to protect themselves and their young from cold and predators. Muskrats burrow into

1602-753: Is so named because water falling on the mountain reaches not only the Atlantic and Pacific but Hudson Bay as well. Farther north in Alberta, the Athabasca and other rivers feed the basin of the Mackenzie River , which has its outlet on the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean. Human population is not very dense in the Rockies, with an average of four people per square kilometer and few cities with over 50,000 people. However,

1691-528: Is the round-tailed muskrat ( Neofiber alleni ). It is the largest species in the subfamily Arvicolinae , which includes 142 other species of rodents, mostly voles and lemmings . Muskrats are referred to as " rats " in a general sense because they are medium-sized rodents with an adaptable lifestyle and an omnivorous diet. They are not, however, members of the genus Rattus . They are not closely related to beavers , with which they share habitat and general appearance. The muskrat's name probably comes from

1780-647: The 49th parallel north as the international boundary west from Lake of the Woods to the "Stony Mountains"; the UK and the US agreed to what has since been described as "joint occupancy" of lands further west to the Pacific Ocean. Resolution of the territorial and treaty issues, the Oregon dispute , was deferred until a later time. In 1819, Spain ceded their rights north of the 42nd Parallel to

1869-479: The Alberta–British Columbia foothills forests . The status of most species in the Rocky Mountains is unknown, due to incomplete information. European-American settlement of the mountains has adversely impacted native species. Examples of some species that have declined include western toads , greenback cutthroat trout , white sturgeon , white-tailed ptarmigan , trumpeter swan , and bighorn sheep. In

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1958-539: The Apache , Arapaho , Bannock , Blackfoot , Cheyenne , Coeur d'Alene , Kalispel , Crow Nation , Flathead , Shoshone , Sioux , Ute , Kutenai (Ktunaxa in Canada), Sekani , Dunne-za , 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

2047-923: The BBC David Attenborough wildlife documentary The Life of Mammals . Plant materials compose about 95% of their diets, but they also eat small animals, such as freshwater mussels , frogs , crayfish , fish , and small turtles . Muskrats follow trails they make in swamps and ponds. They continue to follow their trails under the ice when the water freezes. Muskrats provide an important food resource for many other animals, including mink , foxes , cougars , coyotes , wolves , lynx , bobcats , raccoons , bears , wolverines , eagles , hawks , large owls , snakes , alligators , and bull sharks . Otters , snapping turtles , herons , bullfrogs , large fish such as pike and largemouth bass , and predatory land reptiles such as monitor lizards prey on baby muskrats. Caribou , moose , and elk sometimes feed on

2136-583: The Canadian Pacific Railway eventually followed the Kicking Horse and Rogers Passes to the Pacific Ocean. Canadian railway officials also convinced Parliament to set aside vast areas of the Canadian Rockies as Jasper , Banff , Yoho , and Waterton Lakes National Parks , laying the foundation for a tourism industry which thrives to this day. Glacier National Park (MT) was established with

2225-503: The Climax mine, 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 near Fernie, British Columbia and Sparwood , British Columbia; additional coal mines exist near Hinton, Alberta , and in

2314-731: The Columbia District for Britain. The party crossed the Rockies into the Columbia Valley , a region of the Rocky Mountain Trench near present-day Radium Hot Springs , British Columbia, then traveled south. Despite such efforts, in 1846, Britain ceded all claim to Columbia District lands south of the 49th parallel to the United States; as resolution to the Oregon boundary dispute by the Oregon Treaty . Thousands passed through

2403-824: The Front Range of Colorado, the Wind River Range and Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming , the Absaroka - Beartooth ranges and Rocky Mountain Front of Montana and the Clark Range of Alberta . Central ranges of the Rockies include the La Sal Range along the Utah -Colorado border, the Abajo Mountains and Henry Mountains of Southeastern Utah, the Uinta Range of Utah and Wyoming, and

2492-548: The Laramide orogeny from between 80 and 55 Ma. For the Canadian Rockies, the mountain building is analogous to pushing a rug on a hardwood floor: the rug bunches up and forms wrinkles (mountains). In Canada, the terranes and subduction are the foot pushing the rug, the ancestral rocks are the rug, and the Canadian Shield in the middle of the continent is the hardwood floor. Further south, an unusual subduction may have caused

2581-797: The Liard River and east of the Trench , or in the northeastern foothills of the Brooks Range / British Mountains that face the Beaufort Sea coasts between the Canning River and the Firth River across the Alaska - Yukon border. Its southernmost point is near the Albuquerque area adjacent to the Rio Grande rift and north of the Sandia–Manzano Mountain Range . Being the easternmost portion of

2670-727: The Muskwa Ranges , Hart Ranges (collectively called the Northern Rockies ) and Continental Ranges . Other more northerly mountain ranges of the eastern Canadian Cordillera continue beyond the Liard River valley, including the Selwyn , Mackenzie and Richardson Mountains in Yukon as well as the British Mountains / Brooks Range in Alaska , but those are not officially recognized as part of

2759-648: The North American Cordillera , the Rockies are distinct from the tectonically younger Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada , which both lie farther to its west. The Rockies formed 55 million to 80 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny , in which a number of plates began sliding underneath the North American plate . The angle of subduction was shallow, resulting in a broad belt of mountains running down western North America. Since then, further tectonic activity and erosion by glaciers have sculpted

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2848-660: The Pinedale Glaciation , which perhaps remained at full glaciation until 15,000–20,000 years ago. All of these geological processes exposed a complex set of rocks at the surface. For example, volcanic rock from the Paleogene and Neogene periods (66 million – 2.6 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

2937-722: The Teton Range of Wyoming and Idaho. The western edge of the Rockies includes ranges such as the Wasatch near Salt Lake City , the San Juan Mountains of New Mexico and Colorado, the Bitterroots along the Idaho-Montana border, and the Sawtooths in central Idaho. The Great Basin and Columbia River Plateau separate these subranges from distinct ranges further to the west. In Canada,

3026-640: The "Rockies", becoming the first Europeans to report on this uncharted mountain range. Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1764 – March 11, 1820) became the first European to cross the Rocky Mountains in 1793. He found the upper reaches of the Fraser River and reached the Pacific coast of what is now Canada on July 20 of that year, completing the first recorded transcontinental crossing of North America north of Mexico. He arrived at Bella Coola, British Columbia , where he first reached saltwater at South Bentinck Arm, an inlet of

3115-473: The 20th century and have become an invasive species in northwestern Europe. They primarily inhabit wetlands, areas in or near saline and freshwater wetlands, rivers, lakes, or ponds. They are not found in Florida, where the round-tailed muskrat , or Florida water rat ( Neofiber alleni ), fills their ecological niche . Their populations naturally cycle; in areas where they become abundant, they can remove much of

3204-641: The California and Alaska gold rushes combined and was important in the financing of the Union Army during the American Civil War . The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, and Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first national park in 1872. Meanwhile, a transcontinental railroad in Canada was originally promised in 1871. Though political complications pushed its completion to 1885,

3293-789: The Liard River in British Columbia (at 59° N) and the Rio Grande in New Mexico (at 35° N). Prairie occurs at or below 550 metres (1,800 ft), while the highest peak in the range is Mount Elbert at 4,400 metres (14,440 ft). Precipitation ranges from 250 millimetres (10 in) per year in the southern valleys to 1,500 millimetres (60 in) per year locally in the northern peaks. Average January temperatures can range from −7 °C (20 °F) in Prince George, British Columbia, to 6 °C (43 °F) in Trinidad, Colorado . Therefore, there

3382-430: 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. In 1739, French fur traders Pierre and Paul Mallet, while journeying through the Great Plains, discovered a range of mountains at the headwaters of the Platte River , which local American Indian tribes called

3471-529: The Northern Rockies surrounding Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia . 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

3560-492: The Pacific Ocean. The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) 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

3649-423: The Rockies by the Geological Survey of Canada , although the Geological Society of America definition does consider them parts of the Rocky Mountains system as the "Arctic Rockies". The Continental Divide of the Americas is in the Rocky Mountains and designates the line at which waters flow either to the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. Triple Divide Peak (2,440 m or 8,020 ft) in Glacier National Park

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3738-411: The Rockies into dramatic peaks and valleys. At the end of the last ice age , humans began inhabiting the mountain range. After explorations of the range by Europeans, such as Sir Alexander Mackenzie , and Anglo-Americans, such as the Lewis and Clark Expedition , natural resources such as minerals and fur drove the initial economic exploitation of the mountains, although the range itself never experienced

3827-411: The Rockies, and are shown along the Dakota Hogback , an early Cretaceous sandstone formation running along the eastern flank of the modern Rockies. Just after the Laramide orogeny, the Rockies were like Tibet : a high plateau, probably 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) above sea level. In the last sixty million years, erosion stripped away the high rocks, revealing the ancestral rocks beneath, and forming

3916-410: The Rocky Mountains from 1720 to 1800 seeking mineral deposits and furs. The fur-trading North West Company established Rocky Mountain House as a trading post in what is now the Rocky Mountain Foothills of present-day Alberta in 1799, and their business rivals the Hudson's Bay Company established Acton House nearby. These posts served as bases for most European activity in the Canadian Rockies in

4005-485: The Rocky Mountains is one of more rapid change. The Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado —with a group of soldiers and missionaries marched into the Rocky Mountain region from the south in 1540. In 1610, the Spanish founded the city of Santa Fe , the oldest continuous seat of government in the United States, at the foot of the Rockies in present-day New Mexico. The introduction of the horse, metal tools, rifles, new diseases, and different cultures profoundly changed

4094-442: The Rocky Mountains on the Oregon Trail beginning in the 1840s. The Mormons began settling near the Great Salt Lake in 1847. From 1859 to 1864, gold was discovered in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia, sparking several gold rushes bringing thousands of prospectors and miners to explore every mountain and canyon and to create the Rocky Mountains' first major industry. The Idaho gold rush alone produced more gold than

4183-424: The Rocky Mountains were formed before the mountains were raised by tectonic forces. The oldest rock is Precambrian metamorphic rock that forms the core of the North American continent. There is also Precambrian sedimentary argillite , dating back to 1.7 billion years ago. During the Paleozoic , western North America lay underneath a shallow sea, which deposited many kilometers of limestone and dolomite . In

4272-404: The U.S. portion of the mountain range, apex predators such as grizzly bears and wolf packs had been extirpated from their original ranges, but have partially recovered due to conservation measures and reintroduction . Other recovering species include the bald eagle and the peregrine falcon . Since the last great ice age, the Rocky Mountains were home first to indigenous peoples including

4361-433: The United Kingdom and the United States over the next few decades failed to settle upon a compromise boundary and the Oregon Dispute became important in geopolitical diplomacy between the British Empire and the new American Republic. In 1841, James Sinclair , Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, guided some 200 settlers from the Red River Colony west to bolster settlement around Fort Vancouver in an attempt to retain

4450-501: The United States, though these rights did not include possession and also included obligations to Britain and Russia concerning their claims in the same region. After 1802, fur traders and explorers ushered in the first widespread American presence in the Rockies south of the 49th parallel. The more famous of these include William Henry Ashley , Jim Bridger , Kit Carson , John Colter , Thomas Fitzpatrick , Andrew Henry , and Jedediah Smith . On July 24, 1832, Benjamin Bonneville led

4539-458: The adjective of zibethus " civet musk ; civet ". The genus name comes from the Huron word for the animal, ondathra , and entered Neo-Latin as Ondatra via French. An adult muskrat is about 40–70 cm (16–28 in) long, half of that length being the tail, and weighs 0.6–2 kg ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 – 4 + 1 ⁄ 2  lb). That is about four times the weight of the brown rat ( Rattus norvegicus ), though an adult muskrat

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4628-500: The bank with an underwater entrance in streams, ponds, or lakes. These entrances are 15–20 cm (6–8 in) wide. In marshes, push-ups are constructed from vegetation and mud. These push-ups are up to 90 cm (3 ft) in height. In snowy areas, they keep the openings to their push-ups closed by plugging them with vegetation, which they replace daily. Some muskrat push-ups are swept away in spring floods and must be replaced yearly. Muskrats also build feeding platforms constructed in

4717-615: The belly a bit lighter ( countershaded ); as the animal ages, it turns partly gray. The fur has two layers, which protect it from cold water. They have long tails covered with scales rather than hair. To aid in swimming, their tails are slightly flattened vertically, a shape that is unique to them. When they walk on land, their tails drag on the ground, which makes their tracks easy to recognize. Muskrats spend most of their time in water and are well suited to their semiaquatic life. They can swim underwater for 12 to 17 minutes. Their bodies, like those of seals and whales , are less sensitive to

4806-414: The buildup of carbon dioxide than those of most other mammals. They can close off their ears to keep water out. Their hind feet are partially webbed and are their primary means of propulsion. Their tail functions as a rudder, controlling the direction they swim. Muskrats are found in most of Canada, the United States, and a small part of northern Mexico. They were introduced to Europe at the beginning of

4895-428: The coal bed, and separating the gas from the water; or injecting water to fracture the coal to release the gas (so-called hydraulic fracturing ). 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, a practice known as transhumance . Every year

4984-417: The current landscape of the Rockies. 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). These ice ages left their mark on the Rockies, forming extensive glacial landforms, such as U-shaped valleys and cirques . Recent glacial episodes included the Bull Lake Glaciation , which began about 150,000 years ago, and

5073-451: The early 19th century. Among the most notable are the expeditions of David Thompson , who followed the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. On his 1811 expedition, he camped at the junction of the Columbia River and the Snake River and erected a pole and notice claiming the area for the United Kingdom and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a fort at the site. By the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 , which established

5162-402: The eating of flesh, except for fish, is prohibited); this tradition dates back to at least the early 19th century. In 2019, it was reported that a series of muskrat dinners were held during Lent in the areas along the Detroit River , with up to 900 muskrats being consumed at a single dinner. The preparation involved the removal of the musk glands and the gutting and cleaning of the carcass before

5251-404: The fire footprints. In 2023, 344,000 seedlings were planted across 1,800 acres of high burn severity forest. Most of the 1984 film Red Dawn is set in Arapaho National Forest. The Arapaho National Forest plays a significant role in Laurell K. Hamilton 's Affliction (part of the Anita Blake book series). Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains , also known as the Rockies , are

5340-510: The first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains by using South Pass in the present State of Wyoming. Similarly, in the wake of Mackenzie's 1793 expedition, fur trading posts were established west of the Northern Rockies in a region of the northern Interior Plateau of British Columbia which came to be known as New Caledonia , beginning with Fort McLeod (today's community of McLeod Lake) and Fort Fraser , but ultimately focused on Stuart Lake Post (today's Fort St. James ). Negotiations between

5429-878: The forest. Primary upland nesting species include the mallard , pintail , gadwall , and American wigeon . A number of diving ducks, including the lesser scaup and redhead , nest on the larger ponds and adjacent wet meadows . Most species may be observed during the entire summer season. Fall migration reaches its height in late September or early October when up to 8,000 waterfowl may be present. The wetlands also attract numerous marsh, shore, and water birds. Sora and Virginia rails are numerous but seldom seen. If they are present, Wilson's phalarope , American avocet , willet , sandpipers , Greater yellowlegs , and dowitchers will be easy to observe. Other less common species include great blue heron , black-crowned night heron , American bittern , and eared and pied-billed grebe . The upland hills harbor sage grouse year around with

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5518-644: The growth of ducklings and goslings during the summer months. The first waterfowl arrive in the spring when the ice vanishes in April. The peak migration occurs in late May when 5,000 or more ducks may be present. Canada geese have been reestablished in North Park and begin nesting during April. Duck nesting usually starts in early June and peaks in late June. The forest produces about 9,000 ducklings and 150 to 200 goslings each year. The Fish and Wildlife Service expects that when refuge lands are fully acquired and developed, waterfowl production should increase significantly. There have been 198 bird species recorded in

5607-405: The growth of the Rocky Mountains in the United States, where the Farallon Plate dove at a shallow angle below the North American Plate . This low angle moved the focus of melting and mountain building much farther inland than the normal 300 to 500 kilometres (200 to 300 mi). Scientists hypothesize that the shallow angle of the subducting plate increased the friction and other interactions with

5696-444: The highest peaks in central North America. The range's highest peak is Mount Elbert in Colorado at 4,401 metres (14,440 feet) above sea level. Mount Robson in British Columbia, at 3,954 m (12,972 ft), is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies . The eastern edge of the Rockies rises dramatically above the Interior Plains of central North America, including the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico and Colorado ,

5785-402: The human population grew rapidly in the Rocky Mountain states between 1950 and 1990. The forty-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 forty years 1972–2012. Jackson, Wyoming , increased 260%, from 1,244 to 4,472 residents, in those forty years. The rocks in

5874-456: 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. The Rocky Mountains contain several sedimentary basins that are rich in coalbed methane . Coalbed methane

5963-437: The meat was parboiled for four hours with onion and garlic and finally fried. Muskrat fur is warm, becoming prime in northern North America at the beginning of December. In the early 20th century, the trapping of the animal for its fur became an important industry there. During that era, the fur was specially trimmed and dyed to be sold widely in the US as "Hudson seal" fur. Muskrats were introduced at that time to Europe as

6052-399: The mountains is a calque of an Algonquian name, specifically Plains Cree ᐊᓯᓃᐘᒋᐩ asinîwaciy (originally transcribed as-sin-wati ), literally "rocky mountain / alp". The first mention of their present name by a European was in the journal of Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre in 1752, where they were called " montagnes de Roche ". Another name given to the place by the Cree

6141-536: The muskrat has been included in the list of invasive alien species of Union concern (the Union list) since August 2, 2017. This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union . Muskrats were introduced to Europe in the early 20th century for fur farming. In many European countries, muskrats have become problematic, damaging flood control systems, crops, and river banks with burrowing activities. Their presence

6230-418: The muskrat industry by eating muskrats caught in traps or taking skins left out to dry. Muskrats, like most rodents, are prolific breeders. Females can have two or three litters a year of six to eight young each. The babies are born small and hairless and weigh only about 22 g (340 gr). In southern environments, young muskrats mature in six months, while in colder northern environments, it takes about

6319-680: The muskrat populations have declined by at least one-half in 34 US states. The collapse was near-total, between 90 and 99 percent in a handful of states. Rhode Island's muskrat populations are estimated to be roughly 15 percent of what they were several decades ago. The decline in muskrat populations began in the 1990s and early 2000s. Ondatra zibethicus has 16 subspecies: O.z. albus , O.z. aquihnis , O.z. bemardi , O.z. cinnamominus , O.z. macrodom , O.z. mergens , O.z. obscurus , O.z. occipitalis , O.z. osoyoosensis , O.z. pallidus , O.z.ripensis , O.z. rivalicus , O.z. roidmani , O.z. spatulatus , O.z. zalaphus and O.z. zibethicus . In Europe,

6408-539: 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 with 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 indigenous people had significant effects on mammal populations by hunting and on vegetation patterns through deliberate burning. Recent human history of

6497-434: The result of alligator predation. While much wetland habitat has been eliminated due to human activity, new muskrat habitat has been created by the construction of canals or irrigation channels (e.g., acequias ), and the muskrat remains widespread. They can live alongside streams that contain the sulfurous water that drains away from coal mines. Fish and frogs perish in such streams, yet muskrats may thrive and occupy

6586-735: The scenic areas 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 indigenous languages. People from all over the world visit the sites to hike, camp, or engage in mountain sports . In the summer season, examples of tourist attractions are: In the United States: In Canada, the mountain range contains these national parks : Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta border each other and are collectively known as Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park . In

6675-494: The service industries that support them. Tents and camps became ranches and farms, forts and train stations became towns, and some towns became cities. 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,

6764-503: The size and timing of muskrat lodge construction. In several Native American creation myths , the muskrat dives to the bottom of the primordial sea to bring up the mud from which the earth is created after other animals have failed in the task. Muskrats have sometimes been a food resource for North Americans. In the southeastern portion of Michigan , a longstanding dispensation allows Catholics to consume muskrat as their Friday penance, on Ash Wednesday , and on Lenten Fridays (when

6853-633: The southern Rockies, near present-day Colorado, these ancestral rocks were disturbed by mountain building approximately 300 Ma , during the Pennsylvanian . This mountain-building produced the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. They consisted largely of Precambrian metamorphic rock forced upward through layers of the limestone laid down in the shallow sea. The mountains eroded throughout the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic , leaving extensive deposits of sedimentary rock . Terranes began colliding with

6942-451: The thick continental mass above it. Tremendous thrusts piled sheets of crust on top of each other, building the broad, high Rocky Mountain range. The current southern Rockies were forced upwards through the layers of Pennsylvanian and Permian sedimentary remnants of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. Such sedimentary remnants were often tilted at steep angles along the flanks of the modern range; they are now visible in many places throughout

7031-758: The tree-line for the Rocky Mountains, which varies from 3,700 m (12,000 ft) in New Mexico to 760 m (2,500 ft) at the northern end of the Rockies (near the Yukon). The U.S. Geological Survey defines ten forested zones in the Rockies. Zones in more southern, warmer, or drier areas are defined by the presence of pinyon pines / junipers , ponderosa pines , or oaks mixed with pines . In more northern, colder, or wetter areas, zones are defined by Douglas firs , Cascadian species (such as western hemlock ), lodgepole pines / quaking aspens , or firs mixed with spruce . Near tree-line, zones can consist of white pines (such as whitebark pine or bristlecone pine ); or

7120-446: The vegetation in wetlands. They are thought to play a major role in determining the vegetation of prairie wetlands in particular. They also selectively remove preferred plant species, thereby changing the abundance of plant species in many kinds of wetlands. Species commonly eaten include cattail and yellow water lily . Alligators are thought to be an important natural predator, and the absence of muskrats from Florida may, in part, be

7209-583: The vegetation which makes up muskrat push-ups during the winter when other food is scarce for them. In their introduced range in the former Soviet Union, the muskrat's greatest predator is the golden jackal . They can be completely eradicated in shallow water bodies. During the winter of 1948–49 in the Amu Darya (river in central Asia), muskrats constituted 12.3% of jackal feces contents, and 71% of muskrat houses were destroyed by jackals, 16% of which froze and became unsuitable for muskrat occupation. Jackals also harm

7298-438: The water and can swim underwater for 12 to 17 minutes. They live in families of a male and female pair and their young. They build nests to protect themselves from the cold and predators, often burrowed into the bank with an underwater entrance. Muskrats feed mostly on cattail and other aquatic vegetation but also eat small animals. Ondatra zibethicus is the only extant species in the genus Ondatra ; its closest relative

7387-499: The water from cut pieces of vegetation supported by a branch structure. They help maintain open areas in marshes, which helps to provide habitat for aquatic birds . Muskrats are most active at night or near dawn and dusk. They feed on cattails and other aquatic vegetation. They do not store food for the winter, but sometimes eat the insides of their push-ups. While they may appear to steal food beavers have stored, more seemingly cooperative partnerships with beavers exist, as featured in

7476-631: The western edge of North America in the Mississippian (approximately 350 million years ago), causing the Antler orogeny . For 270 million years, the focus of the effects of plate collisions were near the edge of the North American Plate boundary, far to the west of the Rocky Mountain region. It was not until 80 Ma that these effects began reaching the Rockies. The current Rocky Mountains arose in

7565-657: The western edge of the Rockies is formed by the huge Rocky Mountain Trench , which runs the length of British Columbia from its beginning as the Kechika Valley on the south bank of the Liard River , to the middle Lake Koocanusa valley in northwestern Montana. The Canadian Rockies are defined by Canadian geographers as everything south of the Liard River and east of the Rocky Mountain Trench , and do not extend into Yukon , Northwest Territories or central British Columbia . They are divided into three main groups:

7654-458: The wetlands. Muskrats also benefit from human persecution of some of their predators. The muskrat is classed as a "prohibited new organism" under New Zealand's Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 , preventing it from being imported into the country. The trematode Metorchis conjunctus can also infect muskrats. According to an article in Hakai Magazine , from April 2024,

7743-518: The winter months. Moose have recently been reintroduced into North Park and may occasionally be observed in the willow thickets along the Illinois River bottoms. There are no venomous snakes anywhere in this forest. The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests were affected by five major wildfires ( Cameron Peak , East Troublesome , Williams Fork , Lefthand Canyon and CalWood) in 2020, burning over 25% of their total lands. The Williams Fork Fire

7832-867: The winter, skiing is the main attraction, with dozens of Rocky Mountain ski areas and resorts . The adjacent Columbia Mountains in British Columbia contain major resorts such as Panorama and Kicking Horse , as well as Mount Revelstoke National Park and Glacier National Park. There are numerous provincial parks in the British Columbia Rockies, the largest and most notable being Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park , Mount Robson Provincial Park , Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park , Kwadacha Wilderness Provincial Park , Stone Mountain Provincial Park and Muncho Lake Provincial Park . Muskrat Castor zibethicus Linnaeus, 1766 The muskrat or common muskrat ( Ondatra zibethicus )

7921-551: Was the largest wildfire Arapaho National Forest had ever experienced until it was surpassed by the East Troublesome Fire two months later. As of 2024, the US Forest Service is continuing to work on long-term recovery, including reforestation, stream and waterway repair, fixing road and trail damage, repairing fences between range allotments, repairing historic buildings, and identifying and treating noxious weeds within

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