Colorado's Geography Shapes Its History
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Colorado has diverse geography that has shaped its history. It contains three major regions - plains, mountains, and plateaus - which enclose three cultural areas. The plains were the last settled and include shortgrass prairie. Colorado's Rocky Mountains are the most prominent feature, containing the highest peaks in the US. They are an important attraction. Separating the mountain ranges are intermontane basins. The plateaus in western Colorado include mesas, canyonlands, and floodplains. Colorado's rivers are not navigable and have influenced where cities developed. The state has an arid climate with wide temperature variations due to its high altitude and central location inland.
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Colorado's Geography Shapes Its History
- 1. COLORADO HISTORY COLORADO IN PLACE AND TIME: PART I GEOGRAPHY
- 2. COLORADO AT GEOGRAPHICAL CENTER OF THE UNITED STATES
- 3. COLORADO’S BORDERS Create: nearly perfect rectangle Enclose: 104, 247 square miles Follow: no river or stream no natural feature Are BOUNDARIES OF CONVENIENCE
- 4. COLORADO’S BORDERS Enclose The 3 Historic Regions in the US East/Midwest Tied The South Tied The through the Platte and Arkansas Rivers through the Rio Grande West Tied through the Colorado River: the principal river of the Southwest
- 5. COLORADO’S BORDERS ENCLOSE THREE MAJOR CULTURAL AREAS: NATIVE AMERICAN HISPANIC ANGLO EUROPEAN
- 6. COLORADO’S BORDERS ENCLOSE THREE MAJOR PHYSICAL REGIONS PLAINS: High plains and the Piedmont MOUNTAINS PLATEAUS
- 8. COLORADO’S PLAINS Carved and contoured into 3 landforms: HIGH PLAINS: prairie lands stretching from Wyoming to Oklahoma. PIEDMONT: river valleys of Arkansas and Platte Rivers VOLCANIC UPLANDS: hills & buttes of south central Colorado
- 9. HIGH PLAINS 1. SOUTH PLATTE RIVER 2. ARKANSAS RIVER 3. PURGATOIRE RIVER 4. PALMER DIVIDE 1 4 2 3
- 10. COLORADO’S HIGH PLAINS Area of shortgrass prairie Covered in buffalo grass and gramma grass Dotted by the occasional butte
- 11. COLORADO’S HIGH PLAINS The Colorado Piedmont: The area that parallels the Platte and Arkansas Rivers.
- 12. COLORADO’S HIGH PLAINS The Raton Region: Area of volcanic activity that borders northern New Mexico in south-central Colorado. Hills and buttes interrupt the topography here.
- 13. COLORADO’S HIGH PLAINS Although the furthest east of all physical regions, the plains were the last areas in Colorado to be settled: Still reflect the character of the 19th century Country of open spaces and long vistas Country of endless wheat fields and corn fields Kept alive through irrigation
- 14. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS These are the most prominent and well-known feature of our state. Colorado’s Rocky Mountains are part of a great chain that stretches from Northern Canada into the Southwestern United States. In the United States, the Rocky Mountains reach their greatest height in Colorado.
- 15. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS The Colorado Rockies are known as the “Roof of America.” There are 56 named summits over 14,000 feet in elevation. (80% of all peaks over 14,000 in the US.) The mean elevation in Colorado is 6,800 feet above sea level
- 16. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Mountains have been the major attraction for European visitors to the state. The first were the Fur Trappers Then came the Gold Seekers Then came the tourists
- 17. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS The mountains are important to the entire state: Gather the snow that: Draws the tourists Begins the rivers Feeds the irrigation on the plains However: there is a second side to snow: Snows can be dangerous: avalanches, blizzards Can be too pretty with unexpected results
- 18. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS The Mountain Zone Bisects the state North/South
- 19. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Not comprised of a single chain or range Series of Ranges and cross spurs
- 20. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS The First is called the “Front Range” Runs from Wyoming to Pikes Peak as a system Continues as a spur (Sangre de Cristos and Culebras) into New Mexico. It contains some of Colorado’s most wellknown mountain peaks:
- 26. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Second Range: just to the west of Front Range PARK RANGE: Runs from the Wyoming border to the head of the Arkansas River (near Leadville) Rabbit Ears Pass is part of the Park Range
- 27. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS THIRD IN LINE: SAWATCH RANGE Runs from near Leadville to the San Luis Valley Features some of the highest, most spectacular peaks in the state: The Collegiate Peaks
- 28. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS SAWATCH RANGE Also the two highest peaks in the state: Mt. Elbert (14,433) Mt. Massive (14,421)
- 29. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS FOURTH IN LINE: ELK MOUNTAINS West of the Sawatch Range and SW of the Roaring Fork River. The Elk Mountains stretch from Glenwood Springs south to Gunnison and Montrose.
- 30. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS LAST ARE THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Break the linear pattern of other ranges Created in volcanic activity 15 million years ago Principal mining area with sparse settlement Ouray, Silverton, Telluride and Creede are the towns
- 31. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Contain some of the most precipitous peaks Known as “Colorado’s Alps” Mt. Sneffels Mt. Wilson
- 32. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Separating the ranges are INTERMONTANE BASINS They are commonly called “parks” but are actually large, treeless expanses, high altitude deserts and grasslands. There are four of these basins in Colorado:
- 33. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS The furthest north is called NORTH PARK: Gives rise to the North Platte River Is the general area of Jackson County Walden is the principal town
- 34. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Just south of North Park is MIDDLE PARK: The coldest recorded temperatures have occurred here Grand Lake and Hot Sulphur Springs are here
- 35. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS SOUTH PARK is west of Colorado Springs: Known as Bayou Salado until the 1830s Lies at 9100 feet above sea level South Platte River bisects South Park Fairplay is the principal town
- 36. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS The SAN LUIS VALLEY is the furthest south The average elevation here is 7500 feet It is 100 miles long and 70 miles across The Rio Grande bisects the San Luis Valley
- 37. COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS 1 NORTH PARK 2 MIDDLE PARK 3 SOUTH PARK 4 SAN LUIS VALLEY
- 38. COLORADO’S PLATEAUS Plateaus dominate the western one-quarter of Colorado The region is diverse: Plateaus Mesas Canyonlands Floodplains
- 39. COLORADO’S PLATEAUS The largest is the Colorado Plateau It is part of Four States:
- 40. COLORADO’S PLATEAUS Mesas: Highlands capped with erosion resistant sedimentary rock Grand Mesa Mesa Verde
- 41. COLORADO’S PLATEAUS Canyon lands Most dramatic are along the Colorado River Glenwood Canyon Colorado National Monument
- 42. COLORADO’S PLATEAUS Floodplains: Lower reaches of the Gunnison, Uncompahgre and Colorado Rivers Delta, Montrose, Grand Junction
- 44. COLORADO’S RIVERS CHARACTERISTICS: Rivers are not navigable in Colorado South Rivers Platte: “Too thick to drink, too thin to plow!” have had a major effect on Colorado: First land routes into the area Provide water for irrigation Location of cities and towns Especially at the intersections of rivers/streams Denver, Pueblo, Grand Junction, Delta, Greeley
- 45. COLORADO’S CLIMATE Colorado is an ARID STATE Average Wide variation from 7 inches to 60 inches Altitude 5 yearly precipitation = 16.6 inches is a major factor times as much moisture at 14,000 feet as at 5,000 feet Central Location: “Continentality” Removed from the mediating effects of the ocean Great range in daily temperatures from day to night Thirty to Fifty degrees
- 46. COLORADO’S CLIMATE RAIN SHADOW EFFECT: General flow of winds is from west to east Mountain ranges drain moisture from the air Colder air loses its ability to hold moisture Drop in temperature of 3 to 5 degrees for every 1000 feet increase in elevation When air reaches the eastern slope it lacks moisture “Rain shadow” = lack of rain for 30 – 120 miles east Air emerges as “dry winds” or “chinooks”
- 48. COLORADO’S CLIMATE Westerly winds Mountains ring moisture from air Rain shadow is result
- 49. COLORADO’S CLIMATE UPSLOPE OCCURS WHEN THE WINDS SHIFT AND COME FROM THE EAST SOURCE OF SOME OF THE MOST DEVASTATING STORMS IN COLORADO’S HISTORY
- 50. COLORADO’S GEOGRAPHY The TOPOGRAPHICAL and CLIMATIC features of Colorado: Create Special characteristics that ALL INHABITANTS have had to face ACROSS TIME The CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE AND TOPOGRAPHY forms one of the major themes in Colorado history.