Erin Casper, age 13, of Missoula, Mont., for her question:
HOW LONG IS THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANGE?
The Rocky Mountains, often more simply called the Rockies, are the rugged chain of mountains that extend northeast all the way from New Mexico to British Columbia in Canada. The Rockies extend a distance of about 2,000 miles.
Six states are in what we call the Rocky Mountain region: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah and Colorado.
Some of the highest peaks in the United States are found in the Rockies. Also found here is some of the nation's most spectacularly beautiful scenery, the most severe climates and the sparsest population.
A break in the range in Wyoming divides the Rocky Mountains into two major parts. The Northern Rockies are in northwestern Wyoming, western Montana and Idaho. The Southern Rockies start in southeastern Wyoming and extend southward across Colorado and Utah into New Mexico and Arizona.
There are many north south ranges and valleys in the. Northern Rockies. Those valleys shelter some of the region's most important cities, including Missoula, Butte and Helena. The famous Yellowstone National Park is in this area, as is Glacier National Park, which lies near the Canadian border.
There are also north south ranges and valleys in the Southern Rockies, although the Colorado ranges are more continuous and there aren't many good roads running through them. Most traffic goes north through Wyoming, as did he old Oregon Trail, or south, as did the old Santa Fe Trail.
Rocky Mountain National Park was established in 1915 in a section of the range in northern Colorado where there are many 14,000 foot high peaks. The park has nine mountain peaks with elevations of 12,000 feet or more.
Mining is the chief activity in the Rocky Mountain region. Montana has large deposits of copper, gold and silver. In Idaho you'll find antimony, lead and zinc. Colorado is a major producer of gold, silver lead and zinc, and also turns out about three fourths of the world's molybdenum.
Molybdenum, by the way, is a silver white metalic element that is used as an alloy with iron in making cutting tools.
The western edges of the Great Plains lie east of the Montana, Wyoming and Colorado Rockies. This land is valuable for grazing sheep and cattle, and is also used for growing wheat. Leading cities located in this area include Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Cheyenne, Billings and Great Falls.
A belt of interior plateaus lies west of the Rockies. To the north is the lava covered Columbia Plateau which extends to include eastern Washington and Oregon and southern Idaho.
The central and southern portions of the interior plateaus is called the Basin and Range area because it includes the Great Basin and low mountain ranges. The area covers Nevada and Western Utah.
Salt Lake City and Denver are that area's most important financial and trade centers.