colorado geography powerpoint
TRANSCRIPT
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
COLORADO’S BORDERS
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
COLORADO’S BORDERS
ENCLOSE THREE MAJOR CULTURAL AREAS:
NATIVE AMERICAN
HISPANIC
ANGLO EUROPEAN
COLORADO’S BORDERS
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
COLORADO’S HIGH PLAINS
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.
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 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
COLORADO’S MOUNTAINS
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
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:
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.