Rocky Mountains
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | '''''The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak''''' is an 1863 [[Landscape art|landscape]] oil painting by the [[German American|German-American]] painter [[Albert Bierstadt]]. It is based on sketches made during Bierstadt's travels with [[Frederick W. Lander]]'s Honey Road Survey Party in 1859. The painting shows [[Lander Peak|Lander's Peak]] in the [[Wyoming Range]] of the [[Rocky Mountains]], with an encampment of Native Americans in the foreground. It has been compared to, and exhibited with, ''[[The Heart of the Andes]]'' by [[Frederic Edwin Church]]. ''Lander's Peak'' immediately became a critical and popular success and sold in 1865 for $25,000. | + | The '''Rocky Mountains''' (or '''the Rockies''') are a major [[mountain range]] in western [[North America]]. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than {{convert|3000|mi|-1}} from the northernmost part of [[British Columbia]], in western [[Canada]], to [[New Mexico]], in the southwestern [[United States]]. Within the [[North American Cordillera]], the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the [[Pacific Coast Ranges]] and the [[Cascade Range]] and [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] which all lie farther to the west. |
| + | The Rocky Mountains were formed from 80 million to 55 million years ago during the [[Laramide orogeny]], in which a number of plates began to slide 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, erosion by water and glaciers have sculpted the Rockies into dramatic peaks and valleys. At the end of the [[Quaternary glaciation|last ice age]], humans started to inhabit the mountain range. After Europeans, such as [[Sir Alexander MacKenzie]] and the [[Lewis and Clark expedition]], started to explore the range, minerals and furs drove the initial economic exploitation of the mountains, although the range itself never became densely populated. | ||
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| + | Currently, much of the mountain range is protected by public parks and forest lands, and is a popular tourist destination, especially for [[hiking]], [[camping]], [[mountaineering]], [[fishing]], [[hunting]], [[mountain biking]], [[skiing]], and [[snowboarding]]. | ||
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| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[Outline of North America]] | ||
| + | ** [[Geography of North America]] | ||
| + | ** [[Geology of North America]] | ||
| + | *[[Mountain ranges of the world]] | ||
| + | ** [[Lists of mountains]] | ||
| + | *Rocky Mountains | ||
| + | ** [[Geology of the Rocky Mountains]] | ||
| + | ** [[Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains]] | ||
| + | ** [[Rocky Mountains subalpine zone]] | ||
| + | ** [[Canadian Rockies]] | ||
| + | *** [[Ranges of the Canadian Rockies]] | ||
| + | ** [[Geography of the United States Rocky Mountain System]] | ||
| + | ** Northern Rocky Mountains | ||
| + | *** [[List of mountain ranges in Montana|Mountain ranges of Montana]] | ||
| + | *** [[List of mountain ranges in Wyoming|Mountain ranges of Wyoming]] | ||
| + | *** [[Mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park]] | ||
| + | *** [[Mountains and mountain ranges of Glacier National Park (U.S.)]] | ||
| + | ** Western Rocky Mountains | ||
| + | *** Mountain ranges of Utah | ||
| + | ** [[Southern Rocky Mountains]] | ||
| + | *** [[Mountain ranges of Colorado]] | ||
| + | *** [[Mountain peaks of Colorado]] | ||
| + | *** [[Mountain passes of Colorado]] | ||
| + | *[[Little Rocky Mountains]] | ||
| + | *[[Mountain man]] | ||
| + | *[[The Rocky Mountain Rangers]] (Canadian militia unit) | ||
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Revision as of 12:12, 29 January 2013
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The Rocky Mountains (or the Rockies) are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than Template:Convert from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. Within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada which all lie farther to the west.
The Rocky Mountains were formed from 80 million to 55 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny, in which a number of plates began to slide 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, erosion by water and glaciers have sculpted the Rockies into dramatic peaks and valleys. At the end of the last ice age, humans started to inhabit the mountain range. After Europeans, such as Sir Alexander MacKenzie and the Lewis and Clark expedition, started to explore the range, minerals and furs drove the initial economic exploitation of the mountains, although the range itself never became densely populated.
Currently, much of the mountain range is protected by public parks and forest lands, and is a popular tourist destination, especially for hiking, camping, mountaineering, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, skiing, and snowboarding.
See also
- Outline of North America
- Mountain ranges of the world
- Rocky Mountains
- Geology of the Rocky Mountains
- Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains
- Rocky Mountains subalpine zone
- Canadian Rockies
- Geography of the United States Rocky Mountain System
- Northern Rocky Mountains
- Western Rocky Mountains
- Mountain ranges of Utah
- Southern Rocky Mountains
- Little Rocky Mountains
- Mountain man
- The Rocky Mountain Rangers (Canadian militia unit)
