The Rocky Mountain Region

                 The Rocky Mountain Region is an area with a lot of long, elevated steep mountains.  They run from northern New Mexico all the way to the Yukon Territory in Canada.  This area has many points that are over 14,000 feet above sea level.  These mountains have been formed by glaciers leaving behind jagged mountain tops and high cliffs.  Like other mountains in Washington, and across the North America, the Rocky Mountains are home to many different species of trees and plants.  Old logging camps and towns still remain small mountain towns across the Rockies just like there are small logging communities across Washington’s mountains.  The Rocky Mountain Region’s economy has been reliant on logging and the extraction of natural resources but is now being put aside by high technology, tourism and government activity (Hardwick, 2008).  This is also true with Washington’s economy.  Research schools and more advanced tertiary and quaternary sectors are now dominating jobs available for people.  There is not as much precipitation one would expect in the Rocky Mountains, except at high altitudes in the form of snow.  The western part of these mountains obtains much of the precipitation, leaving the east with minimal rainfall.  Washington is the same way with its Cascade Mountains.  Precipitation is high on the west side of the state while the east side is more grassland and prairie.  Like one would expect, agriculture has been minimal in a region where mountains are the main landscape.  There are many more ranches and cattle than there is farming.  Washington has some agriculture on its eastern, flat side.  The Rockies is a region where coal, oil and other minerals are prevalent and a better investment than growing crops.  A main concern for the Rockies is that there will be a shortage of water.  The increase in population has been a continuous concern for everyone living in the mountains.  Washington’s heavy rainfall has kept this concern to a minimum for its residence.    

Hardwick, Susan W., Shelley, Fred M., Holtgrieve, Donald G. The Geography of North America. Glenview, 2008. Print.