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Mountain states facts for kids

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US map-Mountain states
This map shows the Mountain States. The dark red states are always included, and the striped states are often part of the region too.
RockyMountainsLocatorMap
A map showing the Rocky Mountains in western North America.

The Mountain States are a special part of the Western United States. They are also called the Mountain West or the Interior West. This area is one of nine big geographic sections of the United States. The United States Census Bureau officially recognizes these sections.

This region usually includes eight states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The name "Mountain States" comes from the fact that these states contain parts of the famous Rocky Mountains. These mountains stretch from north to south through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. Arizona and Nevada also have many smaller mountain ranges. Sometimes, a small part of West Texas called Trans-Pecos is also included. All eight states together cover a huge area of about 855,767 square miles (2,216,426 square kilometers).

There are a few smaller areas within the Mountain States:

  • The Southwest includes Arizona, New Mexico, southern Nevada, and deep west Texas.
  • The Intermountain region covers Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and parts of other states.
  • The Front Range region includes northern New Mexico, Colorado, and southeast Wyoming.

Exploring the Mountain West: A Diverse Region

The Mountain West is one of the biggest and most varied regions in the United States. Its borders often stretch from the High Plains in the east to the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range mountains in the west.

Sometimes, the Mountain West is split into two parts. The southern part, which includes Arizona and New Mexico, is often called the Southwest. The northern part, with Idaho and Montana, is sometimes grouped with the Northwest states or called the "Northern Rockies."

Landscapes of the Mountain States: From Peaks to Deserts

Nankoweap-colorado
The bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in Arizona.

The Mountain States are part of the larger "West" region of the U.S. This region also includes the Pacific States like Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. The Mountain West has more different types of land than any other U.S. region. You can find some of the highest mountain peaks in the country here. You'll also see huge deserts and flat, rolling plains in the eastern parts.

All the major deserts in North America are found in the Mountain West states.

Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona also have other smaller desert areas. These are part of the Colorado Plateau. For example, the Painted Desert is in northern Arizona. The San Rafael Desert is in eastern Utah. Colorado has large desert lands in its northwestern, western, and southern parts. These areas include places like Royal Gorge and Colorado National Monument. The San Luis Valley in Colorado is the world's largest high valley desert.

In the far eastern parts of the Mountain West, you'll find the High Plains. These are part of the larger Great Plains. The High Plains are mostly flat, rolling lands. They have some scattered buttes (flat-topped hills), canyons, and forests. This area gets very little rain and is at a high elevation, usually between 3,000 to 6,000 feet (914 to 1,829 meters). Many people think of the High Plains as the gateway to the Mountain West.

The Mountain West is home to some of America's tallest mountains. Some well-known peaks include Mount Elbert, Pikes Peak, Longs Peak, Kings Peak, Cloud Peak, Wheeler Peak, Granite Peak, Borah Peak, and Humphreys Peak.

Weather in the Mountain States: A Mix of Extremes

WheelerSnow
Snow on the Great Basin Desert in Nevada.
Painteddesert1
The colorful Painted Desert in northeastern Arizona.

The climate in the Mountain West is very diverse. Most of the region has a dry or semi-dry climate. However, the mountains have an alpine climate, meaning they are cold and snowy. Some tall mountains get a lot of snow and rain. Other parts of the region get very little rain and almost no snow. The High Plains in the east get moderate snow but little rain.

Nevada and Arizona are mostly covered by deserts and scattered mountains. Southern Nevada gets little to no snow. But northern Nevada can get a lot of snow, even in its desert areas. Arizona generally gets little rain or snow. However, high places near mountains get huge amounts of rain and snow. Northern Arizona has a "High Desert" climate. This means summers are very hot and dry, but winters can be very cold with snow.

Utah also has large desert areas with mountains. The deserts in Utah get a good amount of snowfall. The mountains get very heavy snow. Colorado and New Mexico have similar climates. Both states get significant snow outside the mountains, and their mountains get extremely large amounts of snow. However, southern New Mexico gets very little snow, much like southern Nevada and Arizona. The desert lands in northeastern Arizona, eastern Utah, northern New Mexico, and western Colorado are often called "High Desert" lands.

The northern Mountain West is usually cooler than the southwestern areas. Idaho and Montana both get a lot of snow outside the mountains and huge amounts of snow in the mountains. The High Desert also exists in the northern Mountain West. Parts of southeastern Oregon and southern Idaho have the Great Basin Desert, which is a high desert.

The eight Mountain States have the highest average elevations of all 50 U.S. states.

Time Zones: What Time Is It?

Mount Elbert2
Mount Elbert in Colorado is the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains and the Mountain States.

Most of the Mountain States use Mountain Time. However, Nevada (except for West Wendover) and the Idaho Panhandle use Pacific Time.

Daylight saving time is not used in most of Arizona. This means that from March to November, most of Arizona is one hour behind the rest of the Mountain Time Zone. The only exception is the Navajo Nation in the northeast corner of Arizona, which does observe daylight saving time because it crosses state lines.

States of the Mountain West

The Mountain States by their average elevation
Rank State Highest point Highest elevation Lowest point Lowest elevation Mean elevation Elevation span
1 Colorado Mount Elbert &1000000000000440119999914,440 ft
4401 m
Arikaree River at Kansas border &100000000000010110000003,317 ft
1011 m
&100000000000020726399996,800 ft
2073 m
&1000000000000339019999911,123 ft
3390 m
2 Wyoming Gannett Peak &1000000000000420900000013,809 ft
4209 m
Belle Fourche River at South Dakota border &100000000000009450000003,100 ft
945 m
&100000000000020400000006,693 ft
2040 m
&1000000000000326400000010,709 ft
3264 m
3 Utah Kings Peak &1000000000000412030000013,518 ft
4120 m
Beaver Dam Wash at Arizona border &100000000000006643999992,180 ft
664 m
&100000000000018592799996,100 ft
1859 m
&1000000000000345590000011,338 ft
3456 m.
4 New Mexico Wheeler Peak &1000000000000401330000013,167 ft
4013 m
Red Bluff on Texas border &100000000000008662415992,842 ft
866 m
&100000000000017373599995,700 ft
1737 m
&1000000000000314705839910,325 ft
3147 m
5 Nevada Boundary Peak &1000000000000400709999913,147 ft
4007 m
Colorado River at California border &10000000000000145999200479 ft
146 m
&100000000000016764000005,500 ft
1676 m
&1000000000000386110080012,668 ft
3861 m
6 Idaho Borah Peak &1000000000000386119999912,668 ft
3861 m
Snake River at Washington border &10000000000000216407999710 ft
216 m
&100000000000015240000005,000 ft
1524 m
&1000000000000364479199911,958 ft
3645 m
7 Arizona Humphreys Peak &1000000000000385180000012,637 ft
3852 m
Colorado River at Sonora border &1000000000000002133599970 ft
21 m
&100000000000012496800004,100 ft
1250 m
&1000000000000383046399912,567 ft
3830 m
8 Montana Granite Peak &1000000000000390350000012,807 ft
3904 m
Kootenai River at Idaho border. &100000000000005486399991,800 ft
549 m
&100000000000010363199993,400 ft
1036 m
&1000000000000335486000011,007 ft
3355 m
Mountain States Mount Elbert &1000000000000440119999914,440 ft
4401 m
Colorado River at Sonora border. &1000000000000002133599970 ft
21 m
&100000000000016459200005,400 ft
1646 m.
&1000000000000437986399914,370 ft
4380 m.

Major Cities: Bustling Hubs of the Mountain West

Downtown Phoenix Aerial Looking Northeast
Downtown Phoenix, a major city in the Mountain States.
DENCP
The skyline of Denver, Colorado.

The Phoenix metropolitan area in Arizona is the largest city area in the Mountain States. After Phoenix, the biggest cities are Denver, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City. Phoenix is also the single most populated city.

Here are the 30 most populated cities in the Mountain States:

The 30 most populous cities of the Mountain States
Rank City State 2014 pop est 2010 pop Change
1 Phoenix Arizona 1,537,058 1,445,632 &10000000000000006324292+6.32%
2 Denver Colorado 663,862 600,158 &10000000000000010614538+10.61%
3 Las Vegas Nevada 613,599 583,756 &10000000000000005112238+5.11%
4 Albuquerque New Mexico 557,169 545,852 &10000000000000002073272+2.07%
5 Tucson Arizona 527,972 520,116 &10000000000000001510432+1.51%
6 Mesa Arizona 464,704 439,041 &10000000000000005845239+5.85%
7 Colorado Springs Colorado 445,830 416,427 &10000000000000007060781+7.06%
8 Aurora Colorado 353,108 325,078 &10000000000000008622545+8.62%
9 Henderson Nevada 277,440 257,729 &10000000000000007647955+7.65%
10 Chandler Arizona 254,276 236,123 &10000000000000007687942+7.69%
11 Gilbert Arizona 239,277 208,453 &10000000000000014787026+14.79%
12 Glendale Arizona 237,517 226,721 &10000000000000004761799+4.76%
13 Reno Nevada 236,995 225,221 &10000000000000005227754+5.23%
14 North Las Vegas Nevada 230,788 216,961 &10000000000000006373034+6.37%
15 Scottsdale Arizona 230,512 217,385 &10000000000000006038595+6.04%
16 Boise Idaho 216,282 205,671 &10000000000000005159210+5.16%
17 Salt Lake City Utah 190,884 186,440 &10000000000000002383608+2.38%
18 Tempe Arizona 172,816 161,719 &10000000000000006861902+6.86%
19 Peoria Arizona 166,934 154,065 &10000000000000008352967+8.35%
20 Fort Collins Colorado 156,480 143,986 &10000000000000008677232+8.68%
21 Lakewood Colorado 149,643 142,980 &10000000000000004660092+4.66%
22 West Valley City Utah 134,495 129,480 &10000000000000003873185+3.87%
23 Thornton Colorado 130,307 118,772 &10000000000000009711884+9.71%
24 Surprise Arizona 126,275 117,517 &10000000000000007452538+7.45%
25 Provo Utah 114,801 112,488 &10000000000000002056219+2.06%
26 Arvada Colorado 113,574 106,433 &10000000000000006709385+6.71%
27 Westminster Colorado 112,090 106,114 &10000000000000005631679+5.63%
28 West Jordan Utah 110,920 103,712 &10000000000000006950015+6.95%
29 Billings Montana 108,869 104,170 &10000000000000004510895+4.51%
30 Pueblo Colorado 108,423 106,595 &10000000000000001714902+1.71%
The famous Las Vegas Strip at night.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Estados montañosos para niños

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