The Rocky Mountains are an incredible mountain range located in North America in the Western Hemisphere. The mountain range extends from northern Colorado to southwestern Canada. It hosts a diverse ecosystem, both geographically and biologically and is revered as a monumental monument across the world. The geologic history of the Rocky Mountains began as an aggregation of millions of years. In short, the formation of the Rocky Mountains occurred after hundreds and millions of years of uplift by tectonic plates and millions of years of erosion and ice helped sculpt the mountains to be what we see today. Most of the rocks that make up the Rocky Mountains initially were simple shales, siltstones, and sandstones accompanied by small amounts of volcanic rocks that formally accumulated over about 1.8 to 2 billion years in the ancient sea. From 1.7 to 1.6 billion years, these sedimentary rocks became trapped in the collision zone between parts of the Earth's crust and its tectonic plates. The incredible heat at the center of the mountain range then recrystallized the rock into metamorphic rock thanks to the heat and pressure of the collision forces. Eventually, the shale would transform into both shale and gneiss. The granite found in Rocky Mountain parks is believed to have come from pre-existing metamorphic rocks created shortly after the earth was formed. Eventually, the high mountains of the period were slowly eroded into a flat surface exposing metamorphic rocks and granite. This process occurred around the time between 1,300 and 500 million years ago. This flat surface would be covered by shallow seas and rocks from the Paleozoic period and would settle to cover the surface. There's...half of the paper...a place of tents and then the tents became ranches and farms. The forts and railway stations eventually developed into towns, and some towns were later able to transform into cities. Works Cited http://traveltips.usatoday.com/physical-characteristics-colorado-rocky-mountains-56639.html http://cires.colorado .edu/news/press/2011/rockies-origin.html http:// www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/romo/ http://www.mountainnature.com/Ecology/ http://www. mountainnature.com/Wildlife/WildlifeEcology.htm http://www.frommers.com/destinations/rocky-mountain-national-park/787037 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document: TJ Stohlgren. "Rocky Mountains". "Events in the West (1528-1536)". 2001. Retrieved 15 April 2012. "Events in the West (1528-1536)". 2001. Retrieved April 15, 2012. "Yellowstone National Park." April 4, 2012. Retrieved April 15 2012.