Rocky Mountain National Park - Geography

Geography

Rocky Mountain National Park encompasses 265,761 acres (415.25 sq mi; 1,075.50 km2) of land in Colorado's northern Front Range.

The park is split by the Continental Divide, which gives the eastern and western portions of the park a different character. The east side of the park tends to be drier, with heavily glaciated peaks and cirques. The west side of the park is wetter and more lush, with deep forests dominating.

The park contains 359 miles (578 km) of trails, 150 lakes, and 450 miles (720 km) of streams. The park contains 72 named peaks higher than 12,000 feet (3,700 m), and over one fourth of the park resides above tree line. The highest point of the park is Longs Peak, which rises to 14,259 feet (4,346 m; surveys before 2002 show 14,255 feet (4,345 m) ) above sea level. On the north side of the park, the Mummy Range contains a number of smaller thirteener peaks, including Hagues Peak, Mummy Mountain, Fairchild Mountain, Ypsilon Mountain, and Mount Chiquita.

Several small glaciers and permanent snowfields are found in the high mountain cirques, including Andrews, Sprague, Tyndall, Taylor, Rowe, Mills, and Moomaw Glaciers.

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