colorado geography powerpoint

COLORADO HISTORY

COLORADO IN PLACE AND TIME: PART I

GEOGRAPHY

COLORADO AT GEOGRAPHICAL CENTER OF THE UNITED STATES

COLORADO’S BORDERS

Create:nearly perfect rectangle

Enclose:104, 247 square miles

Follow:no river or streamno natural feature

Are BOUNDARIES OF CONVENIENCE


Enclose 3 Historic Regions in the USThe East/Midwest

Tied through the Platte and Arkansas Rivers

The SouthTied through the Rio Grande

The WestTied through the Colorado River: the principal river of the

Southwest


ENCLOSE THREE MAJOR CULTURAL AREAS:

NATIVE AMERICAN

HISPANIC

ANGLO EUROPEAN


ENCLOSE THREE MAJOR PHYSICAL REGIONS

PLAINS: High plains and the Piedmont

MOUNTAINS

PLATEAUS

P

L

A

T

E

A

U

S

MTNS PLAINS

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

HIGH PLAINS

1. SOUTH PLATTE RIVER

2. ARKANSAS RIVER

3. PURGATOIRE RIVER

4. PALMER DIVIDE

1

2

3

4

COLORADO’S HIGH PLAINS

Area of shortgrass prairie

Covered in buffalo grass

and gramma grass

Dotted by the

occasional butte


The Colorado Piedmont:

The area that parallels the Platte and Arkansas Rivers.

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.


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 centuryCountry of open spaces and long vistasCountry of endless wheat fields and corn fieldsKept alive through irrigation

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.

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


Mountains have been the major attraction for European visitors to the state. The first were the Fur TrappersThen came the Gold SeekersThen came the tourists

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS The mountains are important to the entire state:

Gather the snow that:Draws the touristsBegins the riversFeeds 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

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS The Mountain Zone

Bisects the state North/South

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Not comprised of a single

chain or range Series of Ranges and cross

spurs

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 well-known mountain peaks:

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Long’s Peak

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Mount Evans

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Pikes Peak

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Blanca Peak

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS Spanish Peaks

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

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

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS SAWATCH RANGE

Also the two highest peaks in the state:

Mt. Elbert (14,433)

Mt. Massive (14,421)

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.

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

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS THE SAN JUAN

MOUNTAINS Contain some of the most

precipitous peaks Known as “Colorado’s

Alps” Mt. Sneffels Mt. Wilson


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:

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

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

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

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

COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS1 NORTH PARK

2 MIDDLE PARK

3 SOUTH PARK

4 SAN LUIS VALLEY

COLORADO’S PLATEAUS Plateaus dominate the western one-quarter of Colorado The region is diverse:

Plateaus

Mesas

Canyonlands

Floodplains

COLORADO’S PLATEAUS The largest is the

Colorado Plateau It is part of Four States:

COLORADO’S PLATEAUS Mesas:

Highlands capped with erosion resistant sedimentary rock

Grand Mesa Mesa Verde

COLORADO’S PLATEAUS Canyon lands

Most dramatic are along the Colorado River

Glenwood Canyon Colorado National

Monument

COLORADO’S PLATEAUS Floodplains:

Lower reaches of the Gunnison, Uncompahgre and Colorado Rivers

Delta, Montrose, Grand Junction

COLORADO’S RIVERS

COLORADO’S RIVERS

CHARACTERISTICS:Rivers are not navigable in Colorado

South Platte: “Too thick to drink, too thin to plow!”

Rivers 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

COLORADO’S CLIMATE

Colorado is an ARID STATEAverage yearly precipitation = 16.6 inches

Wide variation from 7 inches to 60 inches

Altitude is a major factor5 times as much moisture at 14,000 feet as at 5,000 feet

Central Location: “Continentality”Removed from the mediating effects of the oceanGreat range in daily temperatures from day to night

Thirty to Fifty degrees

COLORADO’S CLIMATE RAIN SHADOW EFFECT:

General flow of winds is from west to eastMountain ranges drain moisture from the air

Colder air loses its ability to hold moistureDrop in temperature of 3 to 5 degrees for every 1000 feet

increase in elevationWhen air reaches the eastern slope it lacks moisture

“Rain shadow” = lack of rain for 30 – 120 miles eastAir emerges as “dry winds” or “chinooks”

COLORADO’S CLIMATE

COLORADO’S CLIMATE Westerly winds

Mountains ring moisture from air

Rain shadow is result

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

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.

colorado geography powerpoint

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