🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Rocky Mountain National Park

(Explore the history and landscape of the United States as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence. Get out your atlas and almanac and follow along!)

Colorado is our homeschool state-of-the-week, so why not spend a few minutes today with your students learning about one of Colorado’s most important natural and historical places: Rocky Mountain National Park, one of the most widely visited national parks in the United States.

“Rocky Mountain National Park’s 415 square miles (265,807 acres) encompasses a spectacular range of mountain environments. From meadows found in the montane life zone to glistening alpine lakes and up to the towering mountain peaks, there is something for everyone to discover. Along the way explore over 350 miles of hiking trails and incredible wildlife viewing.”

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the highest national parks in the nation, with elevations from 7,860 feet to 14,259 feet. Sixty mountain peaks over 12,000 feet high result in world-renowned scenery. The Continental Divide runs north-south through the park, and marks a climatic division. Ancient glaciers carved the topography into an amazing range of ecological zones. What you see within short distances at Rocky is similar to the wider landscape changes seen on a drive from Denver to northern Alaska.

All of Rocky’s features are inseparably connected. Elemental forces of sky and earth still shape the sturdy rock foundation that supports life up to 14,000 feet above sea level. Riparian (wetland) ecosystems speckled across the lower elevations of the park contain lush plant life and dense wildlife. As you move higher, the landscape gives way to evergreen forests and high mountain lakes. Topping out on the alpine tundra reveals a harsh land where life nestles close to the ground in one of the earth’s most extreme environments.

In the Central Rocky Mountains, trees and shrubs make their home in a patchwork of forests and meadows between 5500 and 11500 feet. Different ecosystems in the park support particular species depending on elevation, precipitation, and aspect (the steepness and direction of the slope). In the harsh mountain environment only evergreen trees, a few hardy deciduous trees and strong adaptive shrubs can thrive.

Wander through colorful mountain meadows and enjoy the beauty of alpine tundra wildflowers from designated trails and hardened surfaces. Rocky Mountain National Park is home to over 900 species of wildflowers.

Over 270 species of birds have been reported in this area over the last 100 years. Some of these birds live here year-round and some are just passing through. Many of the species in the park are unique to mountainous habitats – aspen, ponderosa pine, high elevation willow, spruce, fir and alpine tundra – found in the Southern Rocky Mountains. (nps.gov)

You can find a wealth of additional information about this park’s history, landscape, location(s), and visitor facilities on the webpage for Rocky Mountain National Park from (naturally enough) the National Park Service, and also on the park’s page on Wikipedia.

Explore America’s National Parks, National Historical Parks, National Historic Sites, National Monuments, and more via Wikipedia and via the U.S. National Park Service’s website today.

What American treasures did you and your students explore in your homeschool this Leo Term? 🇺🇸

❡ The great globe itself: This is one of our regular Homeschool Geography posts featuring important natural and historical sites in the United States. Print your own copy of our River Houses American Heritage Calendar and follow along with us, and add your name to our weekly mailing list to get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 🌎

❡ We set to-day a votive stone: If you want a great long-term history and geography project for your homeschool, explore the Historical Marker Database online (hmdb.org) and make a plan to find all the markers that are listed in your local area. Add any new ones you know of that are missing, and add new photos or descriptions for the ones already included. Your students will gain a better appreciation for your local community and will learn a wealth of new information about history and geography. 🏛️

❡ Print this little lesson: Down at the bottom of this post you’ll find a special “Print” button that will let you create a neat and easy-to-read copy of this little lesson, and it will even let you edit and delete sections you don’t want or need (such as individual images or footnotes). Give it a try today! 🖨️

❡ Books in the running brooks: You can always turn to your River Houses atlas and almanac for more information about any of our homeschool states-of-the-week. The almanac has detailed profiles of all the U.S. states and territories, and the endpapers of the atlas are indexes that will show you where all of the individual national and regional maps may be found. 📚

❡ Homeschool calendars: We have a whole collection of free, printable, educational homeschool calendars and planners available on our main River Houses calendar page. They will help you create a light and easy structure for your homeschool year. Give them a try today! 🗓️

❡ Support our work: If you enjoy our educational materials, please support us by starting your regular Amazon shopping from our very own homeschool teaching supplies page. When you click through from our page, any purchase you make earns us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for helping us to keep going and growing! 🛒