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
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