The Physical Geography of Colorado
The placement of the State of Colorado in the Northern Hemisphere has permitted the physical geography in this region to be quite diverse. Colorado’s surrounding physical regions affects its climate, biogeography, geology, and geomorphology and contributes to the state’s own physical geographical uniqueness.
Colorado lies in-between the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. The Rocky Mountains, or also known as the Rockies, range from New Mexico up to Canada would be an example of the high-relief features in this area. The ranges that are in Colorado are also known as the Southern Rockies. These mountain ranges are a lot more jagged and peaks tend to be higher proving them to gone less weathering. They were formed around 60 million years ago, but the Rockies are still younger compared to others mountains in the Northern Hemisphere, like the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. The highest point in Colorado is Mount Elbert with an elevation of 14,333 feet. (King 2014). The Rockies have come to formation through accretion after a long period of subduction zone collisions known as the Colorado Orogeny. (McCreary 2005). The Colorado Rockies also lie in the Trans–Rocky Mountain fault system. It is a systematic range of strike-slip shears and faults. (Sims 2009). A certain type of erosion that has occurred in the Rockies is because of alpine glaciers. This has attributed to the valleys, canyons, troughs, and cirques in this region. [site old text here]. The geomorphology in this area can be attributed to the tectonic activity that has occurred in the past million years, and the tectonic activity that still occurs today.
The Great Plains lies on the east side of Colorado. The mountaino...
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...een a big problem in Colorado’s weather (Bliss et al. 2003). Through these thunderstorms, flash floods will also occur, like those that occurred in September 2013. Heavy snowstorms will also occur in the mountainous regions of Colorado. The weather and climate in this region can very drastically depending on your location, elevation, and time of year. However, it allows Colorado to be very complex and unique compared to the rest of the United States.
From the Rocky Mountains to the west to Great Plains in the east, Colorado consists of a vast amount of geographical differences. It contains desert lands and plateaus, alpine mountains, National Forests and parks, grasslands, and canyons. Colorado contains a unique perspective to physical geography in the Northern Hemisphere permitting geographers to study different types of terrain, climate, weather, and landforms.
Hess, D., McKnight, T. L., & Tasa, D. (2011). McKnight's physical geography (Custom ed. for California State University, Northridge ; 2nd Calif. ed.). New York: Learning Solutions.
In Montana, tall mountains create two distinct climate regions. To the west of the mountains, the weather is milder (Av2 books).
to be a place to avoid. Few considered it a place to traverse, to spread
The authors; Abbott, Leonard, and Noel explain on page 6 of the textbook, what they meant about Colorado being the meeting grounds. According to the authors, Colorado is also sectioned and is connected to the three major sections in the US through the great rivers and mountain ranges. The Southwest portion of the US is connected to Colorado through the Rio Grande River. The Colorado River is connected to the plateau country and Western Mountain range of the US. The South Platte River and the Arkansas River connects Colorado to the Great Plains, leaving Colorado to be the center point, also referred to as the meeting point for the major sections in the US.
The world has been shaped by many events. Like a sculpture each piece was a result of an event that made it that way. The Snake River Canyon is no different, most of upper Utah and part southern Idaho show the scars of an event that rocked the landscape into what it is today. When researching and digging in the region you can find remnants of an old marine environment, from sediment deposits to river terraces hundreds of feet high. It’s confusing to think of the area as a giant lake with sandy beaches and powerful waves, but the overflow of this huge lake is what created most of the landscape you can see today. The great Bonneville flood was the world second largest flood, emptying over 32,000 square miles of lake volume. (Utah Geological Society) The flood that the this overfill caused carved through many areas and created the beautiful valley that can be seen there. However, this didn’t just happen over night. The pre-flood history, flood event, specific flood deposits all played an important role in shaping this large Geological marvel. Understanding what happened back then can give us a good glimpse into better understanding the region today, which can lead to better predicting and preserving for the future.
The Grand Canyon has a lot of different features and is an exciting place that holds a lot of secretes and mysteries that scientists have been trying to figure out since the Grand Canyon was formed. It is millions of years old, over 277 miles wide, 18 miles wide, and defies many normal Geography features that are true in every other situation. Many theories have been presented that seek to explain the formation of the Grand Canyon. The first theory is that the Grand Canyon has a lot of Erosional Scarp Face’s, that have come together over the years, which is one theory that has been presented. Scientists have also tried to see if the Colorado River cutting into the canyon caused the Grand Canyon.
Life is colorful and adventurous, especially if you belong to the military life style. Belonging to the military community for nearly two decades has given me a different outlook on each place we end up. Outdoor enthusiasts, like most military families are, make Colorado Springs a desirable duty stationed. The perfect location Colorado Springs has. The weather offers many clear, beautiful days, allowing Colorado Springs to be a playground to enjoy most of the year round. Many points of interest and vacation sights that can be done in or around Colorado Springs make it a favorite in the military community.
The Colorado RIver is best known for being the principal river of the southern United States and Mexico, but it soon could lose that title. Running about 1,500 miles long, the river is a vital source of water for agricultural and urban areas in the southern desert lands of North America. However over the past decade or so, the river has begun to deteriorate. There are many causes and solutions to the deterioration of the Colorado River.
...se two tectonic plates generated intense friction and pressure that generated enough heat to melt rocks. The descent of denser oceanic Farallon Plate into the asthenosphere produced magma that was made from basalt or andesite. Which is dark colored rocks with little silica. The buoyant magma pushed through the silica-rich continental crust, partially melting the crust that it moved though, and becoming more granitic in composition. About 100 million years ago, the granitic magma pooled at depths of only 2 to 5 miles beneath the surface (United States of America). The granitic terrain that makes up the Sierra, was once thought to have only local variations but was produced from one large mass of rock. It has been discovered however that hundreds of intrusions caused the variations in the granite that is displayed in Yosemite and in the Sierra Nevada range (Huber).
United States Geological Survey, 2002, Statistics obtained at website as of March 3, 2002, www.usgs.gov
The majestic ranges of western North America – the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, the cascades, and the Coast Ranges – arose more recently.
Colorado is such a beautiful state. It brings in a lot of outsiders but not only for its beauty, but for its history as well. Travelers and tourists have been visiting Colorado since before the 19th century. However, during the 19th century, the development of Colorado boomed greatly because of its iconic people and the fact that so many travelers and tourists enjoyed seeing Colorado. The people contributed to making Colorado history more appealing to tourists so the state really emerged. Tourism has led Colorado to great lengths and still to this day, Colorado brings in many travelers and tourists.
All of Maine was once covered by glaciers, the last of which receded about 10,000 years ago. Because of the glaciers, much of Maine is covered with stones, boulders, and clays. Many of the hills and mountains have been rounded, lakes have been formed, and river courses have been changed. Although glaciers covered all of Maine, there are nevertheless substantial physiographic differences in the regions of the state. Maine can be divided into three major natural regions: the White Mountain section, the New England Upland, and the Seaboard Lowland. These three regions are part of the New England province, which in turn forms part of the Appalachian Region.
Long before interstates, college sports teams and cross-country travelers divided and merged the two states of Wyoming and Colorado, a natural border acted as a divider between the two. Near Carr, Colorado any traveler venturing down Interstate 25 drives directly through Natural Fort. A very interesting and large rock formation, Natural Fort once acted as a rest stop for travelers between Colorado and Wyoming. As cities in both states grew closer to one another it was closed, however, it still acts as a natural border between the two states.
De, Blij Harm J., and Peter O. Muller. Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts. New York: J. Wiley, 1997. 340. Print.