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Rocky Mountain: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming

characterized by rocky hills, canyons and desert. They may experience a sense of pre-history; time seems to stand still. This is appropriate, as the area is home of the state’s famous Dinosaur National Monument in the northwest corner, near its border with Utah, where many fossils have been discovered. The area that eventually became the state of Colorado was home to dinosaurs. Leaving footprint and bone behind were ferocious meat eaters such as the Allosaurus and Torvosuarus, as well as the Stegosaurus and the large sauropods Apatosaurus and Amphicoelias. Long after the extinction of the dinosaurs, humans from Asia known as Paleo-Indians arrived in North America. Anthropologists have deter- mined that the Colorado region was inhabited by Native Americans rough- ly 13,000 years ago. Many of these early inhabitants were cliff dwellers that built pueblo -style homes. Within gaping cliff canyons, inhabitants used local materials, such as rock and adobe mud, to build high-rise homes

in the mountainous areas. Summers tend to be rather pleasant, with warm days and cool nights. Average annual rainfall is about 16.6 inches through- out the state. Record temperature highs and lows vary according to region, so that the average annual temperature ranges from 15° Fahrenheit (–9° Celsius) to 88°F (31°C). Snowfall is highest in the moun- tainous areas. Denver, which is the state’s most populous city and is close to the Rocky Mountains, records an average annual snowfall of 60 inches (152 cm). This much snow creates problems for Denver’s citizens, block- ing roadways and closing airports. As late as June, travelers driving on Interstate 25 near Denver can experi- ence heavy hail storms that leave the roadway and surrounding ground cov- ered with white ice that resembles snow. History When visitors travel into the north- western portion of Colorado, they enter a sparsely populated region