Part 11. The Rocky Mountains

Mount Taylor, an extinct volcano near the Southern tip of the Rockies, New Mexico.

Elk fawn, Sandia Mts., New Mexico. Still, these mountains are anything but boring, and some of the best places are very easy to get to.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, one of the deepest in the Rockies, Colorado.

Views of mountain lakes from the summit of Wheeler Peak (4,000m/13,360'), the highest in New Mexico.

Mountain church near Estes Park, Colorado.

Rock formations near Clyde, Colorado.

Sandia crest is easily accessible from the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Bird feeders at Sandia Crest summit attract a lot of high-elevation birds in winter.

Shadow of Sandia Crest. No matter what shape a mountain is, its sunset shadow on clouds alwayslooks triangular.

Four subspecies of American rosy-finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis tephrocotis, L. t. littoralis, L. t. australis, L. t. atrata) at a feeder, Sandia Crest, New Mexico.

Five subspecies of junco (Junco hyemalis hyemalis, J. h. thurberi, J. h. mearnsi, J. h. dorsalis, J. h. caniceps) at a feeder, Sandia Crest, New Mexico.

Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), Sandia Crest.

Races of juncos and rosy-finches from all over North America mix up in winter in places like Sandia Crest or Estes Park in Colorado (park means glacial intermontane valley in these parts).

Chukar (Alectoris chukar), Sandia Crest.

White-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucurus), Rocky Mts. Nat'l Park.

Moulting pine grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator), Rocky Mts. Nat'l Park.

White-tailed ptarmigan, Rocky Mts. Nat'l Park.

Snow algae (Chlamydomonas nivalis), Mt. Evans.

Bighorn sheep, Mt. Evans.

In Colorado, some roads climb above timberline, and even above the tundra zone.

Sunrise,Mt. Evans, Colorado.

Rocky Mountains Nat'l Park, Colorado.

Phlox pulvinata and Heliotropus curassavicum, Mt. Evans.

Polemonium viscosum and Linanthus sp., Mt. Evans.

Moneses uniflora, Rocky Mts. Nat'l Park.

American pika (Ochotona princeps), Mt. Evans.

Among the most accessible places in North America to see plants and animals of the highest elevations are Mount Evans and Rocky Mountains National Park, both in Colorado. The roads through Alpine tundra are usually open only June to September, and are terribly overcrowded on weekends.

Gray-crowned rosy-finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis), Mt. Evans.

Cutthroat trout (Onchorhynchus clarki), Medicine Bow Nat'l Forest, Wyoming.

Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), Mt. Evans.

Coyote (Canis latrans) hunting moths in the tundra, Mt. Evans.

White-tailed ptarmigan, Guanella Pass.

One exception is Guanella Pass Rd., also in Colorado. It is usually open year-round, and is a good place to see white-tailed ptarmigans and other tundra fauna in winter.

White-tailed ptarmigan, Guanella Pass.

Sometimes fierce winds blow away the snow, making it easy to see ptarmigans and weasels.

Long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata), Guanella Pass.

Mountain goats, Mt. Evans.

Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) inhabit the highest mountains of the West, and, unlike bighorns, do not migrate to lower elevations in winter. A good chance to see them is at "goat licks" - mineral deposits they visit to lick salty soil. Such licks can be found on the summit of Mount Evans, on Mount Reinier, and along Icefields Parkway in Alberta, Canada.

"Goat lick", Jasper, Alberta.

Mountain goats, Mt.Evans, Colorado

Beaver dam, Guanella Pass Rd., Colorado.

Beavers (Castor canadensis) are now common throughout the Rockies. Some of beaver dams in Wyoming and Montana are said to be the largest in the World.

Beaver hut, Guanella Pass Rd., Colorado.

Broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus), the most common hummer of the Rockies. Mt. Evans.

The best thing about the Rockies is the change of seasons.

Million Dollar Highway area, Colorado.

Each time of the year is beautiful in its own unique way.

Bright-purple throats of male hummingbirds are only visible if they are lit at certain angle. Mt. Evans.

Late summer is the best time to look for king boletus mushrooms: white-capped Boletus barrowsii (left, New Mexico) and red-capped B. edulis var. pinicola (center and right, Colorado) in spruce-fir forests at higher elevations.

Glacier National Park, Montana.

As you move along the Rockies from south to north, the weather generally gets worse. In Montana you often have to wait for a week to see the mountains between clouds.

Glacier National Park, Montana.

Lake Yellowstone, Wyoming.

Grand Teton Range, Wyoming.

Summer in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Wyoming.

Although the Rockies of Wyoming don't have much of Alpine landscapes, they are very interesting, particularly the Yellowstone plateau. It has more geysers than all the rest of the World, and a nice collection of fumaroles, mud volcanoes, and other volcanic wonders. They are located in a giant active caldera which was the site of the greatest volcanic eruptions on Earth during the last million years. It is a great place to visit in spring, winter, or fall, but can be horribly overcrowded in summer.

Winter in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Wyoming.

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone.

This tiny (dinnerplate-size) hot vent is home to at least twelve species of algae, and a population of flies active in the middle of winter. Bisquit Geyser Basin, Yellowstone.

Hot lakes of Black Sand Geyser Basin contain outstanding diversity of bacteria and other microbes, including the most ancient living organism ever found.

Luminescent deposits at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Bison (Bos bison) at Old Faithful geyser, Yellowstone.

It is always interesting to watch local wildlife use volcanic features: snow-free grass, warm water, mineral licks, and steam vents. Wolf at Norris Geyser Field, Yellowstone.

Bison in a warm river, Yellowstone.

Long-tailed weasel, Guanella Pass.

Home