Rocky Mountains

Introduction & Top Questions
Physical features
- Physiography
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant life
- Animal life
The people
The economy
- Water resources
- Mineral resources
- National parks, forests, and recreational areas
- Environmental concerns
Study and exploration

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Jagged granite peaks of the Wind River Range rise under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds in west-central Wyoming.

A rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) swims underwater, showing its silvery body with a pinkish stripe and speckled pattern.

At a Glance

The Rocky Mountains at Whistler, B.C., Can.

Rocky Mountains summary

Quizzes

Blue Ridge Mountains. Blue Ridge Parkway. Autumn in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, United States. Appalachian Highlands, Ridge and Valley, The Appalachian Mountain system

All About Mountains Quiz

Related Questions

How are natural arches formed in the Colorado Plateau region?
How are the Athabasca Glacier and other Canadian Rockies glaciers changing?
How can mining affect streams and groundwater in the Rocky Mountains?
How did folding and faulting create mountain ranges in the Middle Rockies?
How did glaciers shape the valleys and mountains of the Rocky Mountains?
How did laccoliths create mountain groups such as the La Sal Mountains?
How did rivers in the Middle Rockies cut canyons across mountain ranges?
How did the Colorado Plateau become a landscape of canyons and mesas?
How did the Colorado River help form the Grand Canyon?
How did the Rocky Mountain Trench form?
How did the Teton Range gain much of its height?
How do logging and oil exploration cause erosion in the Rocky Mountains?
How does magma beneath Yellowstone affect the land surface?
How does the Continental Divide affect drainage in the Canadian Rockies?
How far do the Rocky Mountains extend from Canada to the United States?
How have reservoirs changed fisheries and streamside habitats in the Rocky Mountains?
How many separate mountain ranges are included in the Rocky Mountains?
How wide are the Rocky Mountains in their broadest areas?
What is the Rocky Mountain Geosyncline?
What is the highest peak in Rocky Mountain National Park?
When did the Laramide Orogeny occur?
When did the most recent major Yellowstone volcanic eruption occur?
Where do most people in the Rocky Mountains live?
Where is the Columbia Icefield located?
Which ecosystems are protected in Rocky Mountain National Park?
Which mountain is the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains?
Which mountain passes cross the Canadian Rockies?
Which plants grow in alpine tundra across the Rocky Mountains?
Why do cliff-and-bench landforms occur on the Colorado Plateau?
Why do elk and mountain goats migrate between high and low elevations in the Rocky Mountains?
When were the Rocky Mountains settled?
What types of flora and fauna are found in the Chihuahuan Desert?
Where is Lake Ontario located?
What is the geology of the Canadian Shield?
How did glaciers impact the Canadian Shield during the Pleistocene Epoch?
Why is human population density low in the Canadian Shield?
What are the Great Plains?
How big are the Great Plains?
Where are the Great Plains located?
What is the climate of the Great Plains?

Geography & Travel Physical Geography of Land Mountains & Volcanoes

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External Websites

The Canadian Encyclopedia - Rocky Mountains
Colorado Encyclopedia - Rocky Mountains, North America

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Rocky Mountains - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Rocky Mountains, or Rockies - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Rocky Mountains

mountains, North America

Also known as: The Rockies

Written by

Armand J. Eardley

Professor of Geology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, 1965–70; Dean, College of Mines and Mineral Industries, 1954–65. Author of Structural Geology of North America.

Armand J. EardleyAll

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Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 3, 2026 •History

Rocky Mountains, mountain range forming the cordilleran backbone of the great upland system that dominates the western North American continent. Generally, the ranges included in the Rockies stretch from northern Alberta and British Columbia southward to New Mexico, a distance of some 3,000 miles (4,800 km). In places the system is 300 or more miles wide. Limits are mostly arbitrary, especially in the far northwest, where mountain systems such as the Brooks Range of Alaska...

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