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Rocky Mountain National Park Research Paper

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Rocky Mountain National Park is located in northern Colorado and spans the Continental Divide. It encompasses protected mountains, forests and alpine tundra. It's known for the Trail Ridge Road and the Old Fall River Road which include aspen trees and rivers. It is in a Coniferous Forest, or taiga biome. The northern coniferous forest, or taiga, extends across northern North America and Eurasia to the edge of the arctic tundra. The northern coniferous forest is the largest terrestrial biome on Earth. The high country of Rocky Mountain National Park is noted for extreme weather patterns. Its climate is shaped by elevation, slope, and exposure. All of these patterns can change rapidly. Winters are generally cold here with average temperatures …show more content…

It consists of over 60 species of mammals, 280 species of birds, and 11 species of fish. The most popular species include elks, bighorn sheeps, coyotes, beavers, and eagles. The dominant type of ecosystem in this national park is the Alpine Tundra which is known as “the land above the trees” and is the most distinct aspect of the park. Approximately one-third of this national park is above the limit where trees may grow in northern Colorado. The Alpine Tundra ecosystem starts between elevations of 11,000 to 11,500 feet. The land has strong, frequent winds and cold temperatures that help limit plant growth. Most alpine plants are perennials and many plants are dwarfed, but their few blossoms may be full-sized. Although the Rocky Mountain National Park consists of a diverse amount of wildlife, there are many endangered species present in this ecosystem. They include amphibians such as the boreal toad, birds such as piping plover and whooping crane, fish such as bonytail and greenback cutthroat trout, and mammals such as the canada lynx. This national park is important to preserve for these endangered species, climate change, water quality, geology, and forest health. The delicate balance of all species in the park reduces the amount of negative effects due to climate change. Also, bodies of water throughout the park are necessary to preserve this vital resource. The Rocky Mountain National Park is still currently being studied by geologists, but the park will improve the health of forests as long as we maintain natural processes for

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