Foothills Life Zone

Foothills Woodlands and Shrublands

Open Ponderosa Pine Woodlands, Pinyon & Juniper Woodlands, and Montane Shrublands: Seasons, Plants, and Animals

Colorado Life Zones General Information	General Information about the Foothills Woodlands and Shrublands
Colorado Maps: Life Zones and More	Interactive Diagram: Elevation and Life Zones Foothills: Different Woodlands and Shrublands Foothills Woodlands and Shrublands through the seasons Plants and Trees of the Foothills Animals of the Foothills Reptiles and Amphibians Mammals Birds The foothills life zone is the first major step leading up into Colorado's high Rocky Mountains. The foothills life zone's elevation is anywhere from 6,000 or 7000 ft. above sea level to around 8,000 ft above sea level. The pinyon & juniper woodlands live in the lower parts of the foothills on the western and south central part of the state. The open ponderosa pine woodlands grow on the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains. On both sides of the Rocky Mountains, the montane shrublands grow at the higher elevations of the foothills. The foothills are made up of many different landforms, like steep hillsides, cliffs, canyons, mesas, and plateaus. East of the Rocky Mountains, the foothills life zone rises from the Great Plains. The South Platte River, Purgatoire River, and Arkansas River cross it providing for important riparian life zones. On the western and southcentral sides of the Rocky Mountains, the foothills life zone rises from the semidesert shrublands and is part of the Colorado Plateau region and San Luis Valley. Within this area there is: the Roan Plateau, Uncompahgre Plateau, Grand Mesa, and Flattop Mountains. Different rivers cross it and provide important riparian life zones. They are the Colorado River, Gunnison River, White River, Yampa River, Delores River, and Rio Grande River.
Semidesert Shrublands (West CO)
Plains Life Zone: Grasslands (East CO)
Foothills Woodlands and Shrublands
Montane Forests Life Zone
Subalpine Life Zone
Alpine Life Zone
Riparian Life Zones

Foothills: Different Woodlands and Shrublands
Open Ponderosa Pine Woodlands: Lower Foothills (East CO)	Pinyon and Juniper Woodlands: Lower Foothills (West CO)


Montane Shrublands: Upper Foothills	Montane Shrublands: Upper Foothills
Foothills through the seasons
The foothills get little to average precipitation during the year. In the higher parts of the foothills, up to 1 to 2 feet of snow may build up over the winter. In the lower part of the foothills there may just be a couple of inches of snow in winter. In spring, the snow starts melting and many plants grow quickly making the foothills turn bright green. During the summer and fall, the foothills do get some rain. But overall, the land does start drying out. High temperatures can range from the 80 to 90 degrees F in the summer to below freezing for much of the winter. Night time temperatures can get 20 to 30 degrees F cooler than the day time high temperatures.
Foothills Spring	Foothills Summer


Foothills fall	Foothills Winter

Plants and Trees of the Foothills
The foothills has several different types of habitats (open ponderosa pine woodlands, pinyon and juniper woodlands, and montane shrublands). Sometimes, it can be difficult to figure out what habitat or life zone you are in. As you go up in elevation, the plants and trees of two different habitats or life zones may blend together. On the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, the lower part of the foothills rises out of the grasslands. The hillsides are covered with large meadows of grass, small plants, and scattered juniper trees and open ponderosa pine woodlands. As you go up in elevation on the western side of the state from the sage shrublands, more pinyon and juniper trees grow. Eventually, enough trees grow to form the dense pinyon and juniper woodlands. Even higher in elevation, oak brush starts growing in the pinyon and juniper woodlands. If you keep going up on both sides you will run into montane shrublands. Thick patches of oak brush take over the hillsides. But, you might find small areas with pinyon trees, juniper trees, ponderosa pines, and aspen trees. As you get yet higher in elevation, dense pine and aspen forests start taking over and you see less oak brush. Here, it has changed into the montane forests life zone. The pinyon trees, ponderosa pines, and oak brush play an important part in supporting the animals. Every couple of years, the pinyon trees make nuts that are extremely nutritious and provide lots of food for the many animals. The ponderosa pines make lots of pine cones with many seeds inside them. The oak brush makes nutritious acorns for animals to eat.
Pinyon & Juniper Woodlands SW CO Plants Bird& HikeLV	Utah_Juniper Canyon_Dave Bird_&_Hike_LV Rocky Mountain Juniper Tree_Book Bird_&_Hike_LV
Pinyon Pine SW CO Plants Canyon Dave Bird & Hike LV	Ponderosa Pine SW CO Plants Tree Book Canyon Dave Bird & Hike LV (Open Ponderosa Pine Woodlands)
Gambel Oak, (Scrub Oak or Oak Brush) SW CO Plants Canyon Dave Bird & Hike LV (MontaneShrubland)	Aspen SW CO Plants Tree Book Bird & Hike LV (Montane Shrublands)
Different Kinds of Grasses Bird & Hike LV	Seasonal Flowers Indian Paintbrush Goldenrod Larkspur Stonecrop Sulfur Flower Balsamroot & Many More
Other Plants and Trees Manzanita Serviceberry Choke Cherry Sumac Red Maple Mountain Mahogany Horsebrush	Other Plants and Trees (cont.)	Big or_Common Sagebrush Snowberry Golden Currant or Gooseberry Yucca Prickly Pear Cactus Claret Cup Cactus Stinging Nettle Buckbrush & Many More Plants
Animals of the Foothills
Reptiles and Amphibians of the Foothills
The temperatures get cool enough in the summer to cause fewer snakes or lizards to live here. The majority of all snakes and lizards live at or below the lower part of foothills. By the riparian areas of the foothills you may find tiger salamanders, toads, and frogs. Click on the Riparian Life Zones link to find out more about them.
Bullsnake or Gopher Snake CO Herp Society CSU NDIS Utah Div of Wildlife	Smooth Green Snake CO Herp Society CSU NDIS Utah Div of Wildlife
Other Snakes: CO Herp Society CO Herp Atlas CSU NDIS Utah Div of Wildlife	Plateau Fence Lizard CO Herp Society CSU NDIS Utah Div of Wildlife
Variable Skink Many-Lined Skink CSU NDIS Utah Div of Wildlife	Other Lizards: CO Herp Society CO Herp Atlas CSU NDIS Utah Div of Wildlife
Mammals of the Foothills
The seasons start becoming an important factor in deciding which animals live here during the year. Many larger grazing animals like mule deer and elk migrate down to the foothills in the winter and go to the higher life zones from late spring to fall. The lower parts of the foothill may be quite hot and dry in the summer. During the summer, most of the animals that live there are smaller animals like nuttall's cottontail rabbits and rock squirrels. Their predators (coyotes, bobcats, and gray foxes) stay and hunt them. In the past, enormous herds of bison used to roam between the foothills and the plains.
Mountain Lion or Cougar Southwest Wildlife CO Div of Wildlife Hogle Zoo	Bobcat Nature Works CO Div of Wildlife Hogle Zoo
Gray Fox Nature Works CO Div of Wildlife Southwest Wildlife	Coyote Nature Works CO Div of Wildlife Southwest Wildlife
Western Spotted Skunk CO Div of Wildlife Utah Div of Wildlife Hogle Zoo	Striped Skunk Nature Works CO Div of Wildlife Southwest Wildlife
Long-tailed Weasel Nature Works CO Div of Wildlife Sask. Schools	American Badger Nature Works CO Div of Wildlife Bear Country USA
American Black Bear Nature Works CO Div of Wildlife Hogle Zoo	Raccoon Nature Works CO Div of Wildlife Southwest Wildlife
Mountain or Nuttall's Cottontail Rabbit CO Div of Wildlife Utah Div of Wildlife CSU NDIS	Porcupine Nature Works CO Div of Wildlife Southwest Wildlife
White-tailed Jackrabbit CO Div of Wildlife Utah Div of Wildlife CSU NDIS	Voles/Meadow Mice Jumping Mice Pocket Mice White-footed Mice CSU NDIS
Colorado Chipmunk Cliff Chipmunk CSU NDIS CO Div. of Wildlife	Pocket Gophers CO Div of WIldlife CSU NDIS Utah Div of Wildlife
Wyoming Ground Squirrel CSU NDIS Rock Squirrel Utah Div of Wildife CO Div of Wildlife	Mexican Woodrat or Packrat CO Div of Wildlife Utah Div of Wildlife CSU NDIS
Gunnison's Prairie Dog CO Div of Wildlife CSU NDIS Utah Div of Wildlife	Townsend's Big-eared Bat Utah Div of Wildlife & Other Bats CO Div of Wildlife CSU NDIS
Elk or Wapiti CO Div of Wildlife Bear Country USA Sask. Schools	Bison Nature Works CO Div of Wildlife Hogle Zoo
Mule Deer Sask. Schools CO Div of Wildlife Utah Div of Wildlife
Birds of the Foothills
Many different birds live in the foothills. The many grasses, pinyon trees, juniper trees, ponderosa pines, and oakbrush provide lots of places to hide and find food. Some seed eating birds, like the black-capped chickadee and pinyon jay, may live in the foothills all year round. Birds that mainly eat berries and insects, like the american robin and yellow-breasted chat, need to migrate south in the winter in order to find food. Other birds, like the wild turkey and blue grouse, have adapted to eat berries, seeds, and insects. They can stay in the foothills all year round. The foothills life zone is a great place to live if you are a bird of prey. There are many birds, rodents, rabbits, reptiles, and other small animals to eat. Plus, the canyons, mesas, and trees provide many places to build nests. The sharp-shinned hawk, peregrine falcon, and other birds of prey soar in the wind searching the woodlands, shrublands, and open meadows for their next meal.
Golden Eagle Peregrine Fund Mercerburg's Academy CSU NDIS	Peregrine Falcon Peregrine Fund CO Div of Wildlife
Sharp-shinned Hawk Peregrine Fund Mercerburg's Academy CSU NDIS	American Kestrel Peregrine Fund Nature Works Hogle Zoo
Red-tailed Hawk Pergrine Fund Nature Works Southwest Wildlife	Turkey Vulture Peregrine Fund Vultures and Condors Hogle Zoo
Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse All About Birds CO Div of Wildlife Utah Div of Wildlife	Black-billed Magpie All About Birds Nature Works CSU NDIS
Western Tanager All About Birds Nature Works CSU NDIS	Wild Turkey Sask. Schools Nature Works Hogle Zoo
Pinyon Jay All About Birds Nature Works CSU NDIS ________________	Other Birds ________________	Blue or Dusky Grouse Black-chinned Hummingbird Western Scrub Jay Great Horned Owl American Robin Common Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Black-billed Cuckoo Mourning Dove Western Bluebird Yellow Breasted Chat Many more birds