Rocky Mountain System

Rocky Mountains
The Rockies (en), Les montagnes Rocheuses (fr), Montañas Rocosas, Rocallosas(es)
Moraine Lake and the Valley of the Ten Peaks, Banff National Park, Alberta
Highest point
Peak	Mount Elbert (Colorado)
Elevation	14,440 ft (4,401 m)
Coordinates	39°07′03.90″N 106°26′43.29″W / 39.1177500°N 106.4453583°W / 39.1177500; -106.4453583
Dimensions
Length	3,000 mi (4,800 km)
Geography
Countries	Canada and  United States
States/Provinces	List British Columbia Alberta Idaho Montana Wyoming Utah Colorado New Mexico
Range coordinates	43°44′28″N 110°48′09″W / 43.741208°N 110.802414°W / 43.741208; -110.802414Coordinates: 43°44′28″N 110°48′09″W / 43.741208°N 110.802414°W / 43.741208; -110.802414
Parent range	North American Cordillera
Geology
Age of rock	Precambrian and Cretaceous
Type of rock	Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic

The Rocky Mountains, commonly known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. Within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada, which all lie further to the west.

The Rocky Mountains were initially formed from 80 million to 55 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny, in which a number of plates began to slide underneath the North American plate. The angle of subduction was shallow, resulting in a broad belt of mountains running down western North America. Since then, further tectonic activity and erosion by glaciers have sculpted the Rockies into dramatic peaks and valleys. At the end of the last ice age, humans started to inhabit the mountain range. After Europeans, such as Sir Alexander Mackenzie, and Americans, such as the Lewis and Clark expedition, started to explore the range, minerals and furs drove the initial economic exploitation of the mountains, although the range itself never became densely populated.

Much of the mountain range is protected by public parks and forest lands and is a popular tourist destination, especially for hiking, camping, mountaineering, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, skiing, and snowboarding.