High Country : Touring the Colorado Rockies

by Susan M. Neider

• ISBN13: 9780762736478
• ISBN10: 076273647X
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2005-08-01
• Publisher: FalconGuides

Summary

The Colorado high country is the great pinnacle of the Rocky Mountain Range, the geographic spine of North America that stretches from Alaska to Mexico. Colorado encompasses three-fourths of the land area of the United States with an elevation over 10,000 feet, and includes fifty-three peaks over 14,000 feet. In "High Country, author and photographer Susan Neider has assembled a visually beautiful and richly informative guide to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Highlights include the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, a wild river embedded in a chasm that reaches 2,600 feet in depth; the surreal landscapes of Great Sand Dunes National Park; the soaring peaks of the Continental Divide; and much more. Family vacationers, RVers, backpackers, and anyone who loves wild places will find in this book an indispensable trip planner and an extraordinary vision of the Centennial State.

Author Biography

Susan M. Neider's career in writing and photography came naturally to her--her father was the prominent Mark Twain scholar and Antarctic explorer and photographer Charles Neider. She traces her fascination with the Colorado high country to a childhood summer spent in the southwestern Colorado town of Durango.

Table of Contents

Preface

How to Use This Book

The Formation of the Rocky Mountains

The Major Colorado Rocky Mountain Ranges

The Fourteeners

Mountain Vegetation: Five Life Zones

Traveling the Colorado Rockies

General Precautions

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (South Rim)

Colorado National Monument

The Continental Divide

Dinosaur National Monument

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Great Sand Dunes National Park

The Maroon Bells

Mesa Verde National Park

Mount Evans

Pikes Peak

Rocky Mountain National Park

The San Juan Skyway

Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway (CO141)

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