ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

By Georin Leigh

Description Rocky Mountain National Park is located in

the north-central region of Colorado. It covers 415.25 square miles of land. It has many trails and campgrounds for

visitors. There are mountains, lakes, rivers,

grasslands, wetlands, some small glaciers and permanent snow areas, many types of trees, and forests around the park.

The park features varied climates and environments and a variety of wildlife.

Rocky Mountain National Park is split by the Continental Divide and it contains the headwaters of the Colorado River.

The tallest point is Longs Peak, which is at an elevation of 14,255 feet.

Biotic Factors Biotic factors in an

environment are the living things that influence or affect an environment and the other living organisms in it.

For example, biotic factors in Rocky Mountain National Park are the plants because they are food for some animals there and they give them oxygen so they can live.

Abiotic Factors Abiotic factors in an environment are the

non-living things that influence or affect an environment and the organisms in it.

An example of an abiotic factor in Rocky Mountain National Park is the temperature because it determines if an organism will go hibernate or not. That organism could also be prey for another animal, and if that food source goes away, that animal won’t have any food.

Food Chain

Berries and Flowers Deer Grizzly Bear

Food Web

Organism One organism living in Rocky Mountain National Park

is a deer. It lives all around in the forests of the national park. Deer are first-level consumers. Some adaptations are:

-They have special calls to warn other animals of danger.

-They can sometimes kill a wolf because of their antlers and sharp hooves.

-They have strong legs to run and escape quickly.

-They can grow a thick coat in preparation for winter. If they deer disappeared from the food web, it wouldn’t

be good. The bears would have lost one of the bigger foods that they eat. This would cause the bears to eat a whole bunch of smaller animals and berries and flowers until there aren't any left. Then the bears and the other animals that eat berries and flowers and small animals wouldn’t have any food left and they would starve and die.

Sustainability Issues If any issues threaten the deer like habitat loss, climate

change, or over hunting, I would recommend doing a few things so that the deer can stay alive in the future:

-Pass laws to make sure people don’t destroy the deer’s natural habitat.

-Try to stop people from burning natural gas and using gasoline and other things to stop pollution. This could cause climate change. If needed, move the deer to a new location with a better climate.

-Pass laws to limit hunting season and to limit the amount of deer people can hunt. If needed, bring some of the deer to a zoo so they can breed and be protected.

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2013. "Rocky Mountain National Park." Rocky Mountain Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web.

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Apr. 2013. "Deer Run Subdivision." -. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013. "Grizzly Bear." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013. "Departments." Northwest Quarterly NWQ Getaway Guide Spring Edition

Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013. "Pennsylvania State Animal - White-Tailed Deer." Pennsylvania State Animal

- White-Tailed Deer. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.