The Rocky Mountain Region and Intermontane West (Chapters 12 & 13)

In Chapters 12 and 13, we learned about the Rocky Mountain and Intermontane West regions. Chapter 12 discusses the formation of the Rockies due to the collision of continental plates millions of years ago, which generated shock waves while the mountain-building process took place. On page 229 of Chapter 12, Figure 12.2 shows a cut-out profile view of the the landform processes and features that led to the formation of the Rockies. Below is a similar profile view of the Antelope Valley region, provided by the U.S. Geological Society. It shows some of the faults in the AV, including the San Andreas Fault which has formed the San Gabriel Mountains; these faults often lead to earthquakes in the area, similar to the processes that took place millions of years ago in the Rocky Mountain region.

 
(Source: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_b/basin_range3.html)  

The Rocky Mountains and Intermontane West are known for their ski resorts, and surprisingly, although the AV is a desert region, residents of the area can also easily partake in the recreational sports of skiing and snowboarding by driving only 45 minutes to the San Gabriel Mountains, home to the Mountain High winter resort. As the resort's website states, "Mountain High is so close to the Antelope Valley that its night lighting can be seen from Palmdale, Lancaster and the entire surrounding area." This is true! In fact, when I was a little kid, my parents told me every winter that the lights on the mountains was Santa Claus practicing with his reindeer for Christmas.

 



(Source: http://www.mthigh.com/mountain/directions) 

Another similarity between the Rocky Mountain region and the Antelope Valley is that both of these areas are home to wildflowers. As shown on page 232, the wildflowers grow at certain elevations of the Rockies, and the AV is home to consistent flowering of the California state flower, the poppy. In fact, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, located in Lancaster, is a state-protected park where each spring visitors can see rolling hills of grassland covered with the beautiful orange poppies, as shown below. This is another similarity between the AV and the Intermontane West, in that both areas have been successful in preserving there natural wonders through government parks. I have visited the Poppy Reserve many times, and it is always a wonderful sight, although the last two years have produced less flowers due to lower rainfall.


(Source: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=627)

Finally, both the Rocky Mountains and the Intermontane West have created tourist industries through historic preservation efforts, and in a similar vein, the Antelope Valley Indian Museum attracts tourists who wish to learn more about the history and cultures of Natives Americans in southern California. Built in the 1920s, the Museum is home to collections of Antelope Valley Native American artifacts and information about the Antelope Valley area and the history of Native Americans in the area. I have visited it a few times, and it is always interesting to see and learn from.


Inside one of the rooms in the Museum:


Thus, the Antelope Valley shares a surprising number of similarities with the Rocky Mountain and Intermontane West regions.