Rocky Mountain National Park By Grace Werthman December 6, 2015

History of Rocky Mountain National Park By 1900, ranchers, hunters, and miners and homesteaders moved to the Rocky Mountains to take advantage of its natural resources. Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and John Muir cared deeply cared about nature and protecting it. They said, "Those who pull flowers up by the roots will be condemned by all worthy people," Rocky Mountain National Park, in Colorado, was established on January 26, 1915. Enos Mills worked hard to create the nation's tenth national park. He hoped that: "In years to come when I am asleep beneath the pines, thousands of families will find rest and hope in this park."

U.S. MAP The Rocky Mountain National Park is located in the western part of the United States.

Rocky Mountain National Park Topographical Map There many mountains, valleys, canyons, rivers, and lakes in the park.

Environmental Issues 23 years of research shows that nitrogen deposition is at elevated levels. This is 18 to 20 times greater than natural levels. If this continues aquatic species, including fish, could be affected in the next several decades. This may also affect plant communities, changing the plant composition.

Special Landforms Rocky Mountain National Park is called “The land above the trees“. Trail Ridge Road, the highest road in any national park, takes you to open sky where you'll find flowers and a harsh climate. Approximately one-third of this national park is above the limit where trees may grow in northern Colorado. Large meadow valleys and slopes support the widest range of life. Mountain lakes sustain wildlife in this chilly environment. You can get to know other fellow mammals that also enjoy traveling through these mountains.

How is Technology Used to Preserve the Rocky Mountain National Park Here are some ways our government uses technology to preserve the past and in the process, secure the future: National parks are also showing up on social media sites everywhere. These websites help to bring visitors to the park where they will spend money. This money is used to preserve the park. Skype and YouTube is used to teach students about national parks. Students can view electronic field trips to learn about that the parks’ natural beauty and history. This helps people who would otherwise miss out and hopefully creating lifelong supporters.

Rocks Found in the Rocky Mountain National Park Most of the rocks are igneous rocks like lava that shot out of volcanoes when the Earth was first forming, or metamorphic rocks like gneiss made out of that igneous rock. These rocks got pushed up into mountains because of plate tectonics, when the Pacific plate with California, Oregon, and Washington on it began pushing against the plate that had the rest of North America on it. Because of how the plates were shaped, the Rocky Mountains formed not on the very edge of the plate, but hundreds of miles further away.

How The Rocky Mountains Were Formed The Rockies Mountains were formed around 65-140 million years ago in the dinosaur’s time. Intense plate tectonic movements happened at the Western part of North America. Two ocean plates called the Pacific Plate and Juan de Fuca Plate pushed towards the North American Plate. About 200-300 miles inland the slabs of the oceanic plate pushing inwards created a volcano with lava and ashes spewing out of it. Great amount of molten rocks were injected and hardened and this is how the Rocky Mountains were created.

Land is changing in the Rocky Mountain National Park Mountains go though a life cycle. They wear down over time at various rates. As the rocks are exposed to the erosive actions of water and wind, mountains begin to fracture and dissolve. This explains the high and rugged appearance of young mountains and the lower and smoother appearance of older mountains. Some mountains that once existed on the planet hundred of millions of years ago have long since eroded away.

Bibliography http://www.nps.gov/romo/lea History of when the park opened. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=picture+of+the+united+states+and+where+the+rocky+mountain+national+park+is+located+with+a+star&view=detailv2&&id=9CF890BB7AB38679C7675519D74CA4C3353969F9&selectedIndex=64&ccid=v4QHOokc&simid=608043666263116255&thid=OIP.Mbf84073a891cdd8bda6eaeb857b4c30ao0&ajaxhist=0 Map of United States and the Rocky http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=topographical+map+of+rocky+mountain+national+park&view=detailv2&qpvt=topographical+map+of+rocky+mountain+national+park&id=91E62B2ED0C908B8390D8A9888DA3D4CD97F11F1&selectedindex=52&ccid=ZCnz%2FAwE&simid=607992972778997793&thid=OIP.M6429f3fc0c049914baf7f99a26608936o0&mode=overlay&first=1 Topographical map of Rocky Mountain National Park http://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/nature/environmentalfactors.htm Website for environmental issues and special land forms

Technology tohttps://www. microsoft Preserve the Park http://quatr.us/geology/platetectonics/rockies.htm Rocks in the Mountains http://joshwillgeo.tripod.com/form.html How the Rocky Mountains were formed http://www.scienceclarified.com/landforms/Faults-to-Mountains/Mountain.html How land is changing