Rocky Mountain National Park
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| Rocky Mountain National Park | |
|---|---|
 View from Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park | |
  Location in Colorado  Location in the United States | |
| Location | Larimer / Grand / Boulder counties, Colorado, United States |
| Nearest city | Estes Park and Grand Lake, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 40°20′48″N 105°44′11″W / 40.3466°N 105.7364°W |
| Area | 265,461 acres (1,074.28 km2)[2] |
| Established | January 26, 1915[3] |
| Visitors | 3,305,199 (in 2020)[4] |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Rocky Mountain National Park |
Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park in north Colorado. It is a bit northwest of Denver.[5] It is in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is between the towns of Estes Park to the east and Grand Lake to the west. The Continental Divide goes through the middle of the park, and the headwaters of the Colorado River are in the northwest area of the park.[6] People mostly go to the park to see the mountains and alpine lakes. The also go there to see the many types of wildlife within different climates and environments in the area.
President Woodrow Wilson said yes to the Rocky Mountain National Park Act on January 26, 1915. This set the borders for the park. It also protected the area for future generations.[3] The Civilian Conservation Corps built the park's main road, Trail Ridge Road, in the 1930s.[3] In 1976, UNESCO made the park one of the first World Biosphere Reserves.[7] In 2018, more than 4.5 million people visited the park.[8] The park is one of the most visited parks in the National Park System. It was the third most visited national park in 2015.[9] In 2019, the park had 4,678,804 visitors, which was a 44% increase from the number in 2012.[10]
The park has five visitor centers.[11] The park headquarters is located at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. That visitor center is a National Historic Landmark.[12] National Forests are on all sides of the national park. These include Roosevelt National Forest, Routt National Forest, and Arapaho National Forest. The Indian Peaks Wilderness area is south of the park.[6]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Rocky Mountain in United States of America Archived 2019-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. protectedplanet.net. United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- ↑ "The National Parks: Index 2009-2011" (PDF). nps.gov. National Park Service. p. 33. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Brief Park History". nps.gov. National Park Service. n.d. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
- ↑ "Annual Visitation Highlights". nps.gov. National Park Service.
- ↑ "Rocky Mountain National Park Mileages and Elevations". nps.gov. National Park Service. n.d. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Rocky Mountain National Park Maps". nps.gov. National Park Service. n.d. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- ↑ "Biosphere Reserve Information, United States of America, Rocky Mountain". unesco.org. UNESCO. August 17, 2000. Archived from the original on August 24, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
- ↑ "Annual Visitation Report". National Park Service. n.d. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
- ↑ "These Were the Most Visited National Parks in 2015". Time Magazine. February 17, 2016. Archived from the original on February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
- ↑ Meyer, John (February 14, 2019). "Rocky Mountain National Park sets another attendance record with 4.6 million visitors in 2019". The Denver Post. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- ↑ "Rocky Mountain National Park Visitor Centers". National Park Service. n.d. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Beaver Meadows Visitor Center Review | Rocky Mountain NP | Fodor's Travel Guides". Fodors.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2006. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
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