Rim Rock Elementary

Alpine Life Zone

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

Alpine Life Zone: Seasons, Plants, & Animals

Step 2: Choose a Topic from the Alpine Life Zone & Scroll Down

General Information
General Information

Through the Seasons
Through the Seasons

Altitude Sickness & Sunburns
Altitude Sickness & Sunburns


Awesome Adaptations

Plants
Plants

Mammals
Mammals

Birds
Birds

Reptiles & Amphibians

Colorado Life Zones General information Interactive Life Zone Diagram Colorado Life Zones Maps Semidesert Shrublands Life Zone West CO Shortgrass Prairie or Plains Life Zones Foothills Woodlands and Shrublands Montane Forests Life Zone Subalpine Life Zone Alpine Life Zone Riparian Life Zones

Alpine Life Zone General Information

The Alpine life zone's elevation is from about 11,500 feet above sea level and higher. It is so cold and windy that it is above tree line (above where trees no longer grow). Even with its harsh, cold, windy weather and steep rocky slopes, plants and animals find a way to live there, click on extreme weather to learn more.

The major landform here is the Continental pide (a series of tall mountains that zigzags north-south through central part of Colorado).The Continental pide of the Rocky Mountains splits the way water flows in the United States. Everything east of the tall chain of mountains flows to the east and everything west flows west. It has many peaks with elevations higher than 14,000 ft above sea level, with the highest being Mt. Elbert at 14,433 ft above sea level.

The Alpine Life Zone 11,500 ft. Above Sea Level and Higher

Above Sea Level and Higher
Spring Alpine Life Zone

Alpine Life Zone in the Spring

The summer like weather is very short.

Colorado's Life Zones Map

Colorado's Life Zones Map

Colorado Map: Mountain Ranges and Major Rivers

Mountain Ranges and Major Rivers