The Rocky Mountains are changing. Climate change, human land use, and natural processes all are contributing to a shifting biome.
A Canadian icon
The Rocky Mountains are one of Canada’s most recognizable landscapes and are home to an incredible number of species and ecosystems. From the wide valley bottoms to exposed ridgelines and mountain peaks, mammals, birds, plants, and fungi find habitat to grow and thrive. Due to the extreme nature of mountain habitats, their inhabitants are often highly adapted to the specific habitat that they live in.
A landscape written by glaciers
Ancient seaways, plate tectonics, and massive glaciers have successively worked to create the landscape of the present day Rocky Mountains.
Islands in the sky
The Rocky Mountains host an incredible diversity of ecosystems. From the montane forests of the valleys, to the alpine meadows and scree slopes near the peaks, life has found a way to thrive in every part of the land.
A watery world
Water is everywhere in the Rockies. Snow melts and runs down into small alpine ponds and lakes, fish swim in rushing creeks and rivers, and large valley bottom lakes provide habitat for fish, mammals and waterfowl.