9781422286173

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Rocky Mountain: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming

extends from Western Canada and down into New Mexico—is Colorado’s Mount Elbert, which measures 14,433 feet (4,399 m) high. However, the state’s terrain isn’t all about majestic height. Its mountains dwarf a wide, flat expanse: the state’s eastern portion which encompasses almost one half of its total area. This portion is part of the High Plains,

peaks with heights that give Colorado the highest mean elevation in the United States. Many of the peaks rise more than 10,000 feet (3,050 m) above sea level. One of the highest is Pikes Peak, at 14,115 feet (4,302 m). This peak was named in 1806 for its discoverer, Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike. But the highest peak in all of the Rocky Mountains range—which

Red iron peaks are reflected in a high mountain lake off the San Juan Skyway.