Rim Rock Elementary

Riparian Life Zones

Colorado Life Zones: Seasons, Plants, & Animals

Step 1: Choose One of the Life Zones or Choices Below

Life Zones Menu Bar
Colorado Life Zones General Information Interactive Elevation & Life Zone Diagram Colorado Maps: Life Zones and More Semidesert Shrublands (West CO) Shortgrass Plains Life Zone (East CO) Foothills Woodlands & Shrublands Montane Forests Life Zone Subalpine Life Zone Alpine Life Zone Riparian Life Zones

Riparian Life Zones: Seasons, Plants, & Animals

Step 2: Choose a Topic from the Riparian Life Zones & Scroll Down

General Information
General Information

Riparian Life Zones Tamarisk Russian Olive
Tamarisks & Russian Olives: Problem Trees

Riparian Life Zones Fish
Fish

Riparian Life Zones Awesome Adaptations
Awesome Adaptations

Riparian Life Zones Plants Trees of the Riparian Life Zones
Plants and Trees

Riparian Life Zones Mammals
Mammals

Riparian Life Zones Birds
Birds

Riparian Life Zones Reptiles and Amphibians
Reptiles & Amphibians

Riparian Life Zones General Information
Colorado's greatest natural resource is not gold, silver, coal, or natural gas. Colorado's greatest natural resource is the shiny white blanket of snow that falls on the rugged beautiful Rocky Mountains every winter. The snow builds up over the winter and melts over the summer. The water forms into important lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers. Higher in the mountains, the snow melt provides enough water during the summer for dense montane and subalpine forests to grow. The mountain streams merge or come together, eventually forming rivers. The rivers create paths or corridors through the land where many plants and animals can live all year round. Without the snow melt from the Rocky Mountains, many different plants and animals could not live here, including humans. Click here to learn more about how rivers are formed.

There are different types of riparian habitats. They are mountain streams, ponds and marshlands, lakes, and rivers. Each have different plants and animals that are more adapted to living there. Elevation again plays a factor. The riparian areas in the lower elevations of the foothills, semidesert shrublands and plains are significantly different than those at higher elevations, like the montane and subalpine forests or alpine tundra. Scroll down to find more information about these three different areas. For more information click on the link to go to Nature Works Fresh Water Aquatic Communities

Lakes Rivers
Mountain Lake Colorado River
Alpine stream Ponds and Marshlands
Streams & Waterfalls Ponds and Marshlands
Colorado Map: Mountain Ranges and Major Rivers
CO Mountain Ranges and Major Rivers