Colorado Life Zones

1
Colorado Life Zones
5.
1.
Alpine
Prairie
2.
Foothills
3.
Montane
4.
Subalpine
6.
Riparian
2
Colorado Life Zones
Alpine 11,500 ft.
Sub alpine 10,000 11,500 ft.
Montane 8,000 10,000 ft.
Foothills 5,500 8,000 ft.
Riparian
Plains 3,500 5,500 ft.
3
Influences on the Life Zones

• Elevation
• Climate
• Soils (Dirt)
• Threats

• Animals
• Plants
• Food Web

4
PRAIRIE / GRASSLANDS
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Plains Life Zone
Alpine 11,500 ft.
Sub alpine 10,000 11,500 ft.
Montane 8,000 10,000 ft.
Foothills 5,500 8,000 ft.
Riparian
Plains 3,500 5,500 ft.
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What Is It Like On The Prairie?
Less than mountains, more than desert
Rainfall
Temperature
Cold in winter, hot in summer
Geography
East side of the mountains
Soils
Very fertile, plants grow easily with deep roots
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Canopy Height
Foothills
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What kinds of plants grow on the Prairie?
?
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Buffalo Grass
Blue Grama
Needle Thread Grass
Can you think of the kinds of ADAPTATIONS that
help these plants grow in the hot and dry climate
of the prairie?
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Yucca
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What kinds of animals live on the Prairie?
?
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The Lark Bunting
The Colorado state bird !
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Hawks and Eagles
Predators in the sky look for food below.
Who is their prey?
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Prairie Dogs Pups
Burrowing Owl prairie dog owl
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Swift Fox
Swift Fox Kits
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Coyote
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Kangaroo Rat
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American Bison
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Pronghorn or Antelope
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Notice how well this horned lizard blends in with
its surroundings.
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Prairie Rattlesnake
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The Food Chain
Who eats Whom?
red-tailed hawk
snake
kangaroo rat
The kangaroo rat will eat the grass. The snake
will eat the kangaroo rat. The red-tailed hawk
will then eat the snake.
grass
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Foothills Life Zone
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Foothills Life Zone
Alpine 11,500 ft.
Sub alpine 10,000 11,500 ft.
Montane 8,000 10,000 ft.
Foothills 5,500 8,000 ft.
Riparian
Prairie / grasslands 3,500 5,500 ft.
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What Is It Like In The Foothills?
Climate
Weather is always changing! Rain falls during
Spring and Fall, and some snow falls in Winter.
Temperature
Summer temperatures can be HOT, up to 100
degrees, and winters can be cold, down to 20
degrees. BRRR!
Geography
Located just upslope from the plains. They are
smaller than mountains, but taller than most
hills!
Soils
Soils are sandy and have lots of broken up rock
left there from glaciers
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How Tall Are The Trees In The Foothills?
Foothills
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What kinds of plants grow in the Foothills?
?
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Sagebrush
Gambel Oak or Scrub Oak
Junegrass
Ball Cactus
Prickly Pear Cactus
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Ponderosa Pine
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What kinds of animals live in the Foothills?
?
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Elk
Elk live mostly at higher elevations, but in the
winter they can move into the foothills
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Mule Deer
There are many deer in the foothills. This is
a mule deer.
How can you can tell?
By its big ears!
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Coyotes, foxes and raccoons all live in the
foothills.
Fox
Coyote
Raccoons
These animals can adapt very well to human
environments. That is why you see them living
near cities.
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Mountain Lion
Mountain lions are important predators in the
food web. They hunt deer and small elk as well as
other small animals. Mountain lions have a
territory of up to 500 sq. miles! Do you know why
their territory is so big? They are losing their
homes because so many people are building houses
in the foothills.
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Great Horned Owl
Ladybugs eat other bugs that kill plants.
They help keep the foothills healthy!
Lizards
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Montane Life Zone
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Montane Life Zone
Alpine 11,500 ft.
Sub alpine 10,000 11,500 ft.
Montane 8,000 10,000 ft.
Foothills 5,500 8,000 ft.
Riparian
Plains 3,500 5,500 ft.
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What Is It Like In The Montane?
Snow falls in late fall and winter, thunderstorms
in summer, more rain than foothills. Warmer than
alpine.
Climate
Temperature
Stays near freezing (24-32 F) in the winter, warm
in the summer (70-78 F)
Geography
Located between foothills and subalpine. This
zone supports many types of plant and animal
habitats.
Deep soils in flat meadows help grasses and
shrubs grow. Trees grow better in less wet, more
rocky soils on the slopes of the valleys.
Soils
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How Tall Are The Trees In The Montane?
Foothills
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What kinds of plants grow in the Montane?
?
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Douglas Fir

• Found in wet upper montane zone
• Flat needles, cones have mouse tails
• Rough Bark
• Strong, Hard Wood Good for Construction
• Bears like to scrape the bark and eat sap

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Lodgepole Pine
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Aspen Trees

• Trees lose their leaves in the fall
• Very Fertile Soils Beneath Aspen
• Leaves quake or tremble in the wind
• Most trees in an area are from one root.
• Grows well after fire

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Columbine
Indian Paintbrush
State flower of Colorado!
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What kinds of animals live in the Montane?
?
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Golden mantled ground squirrel
How does the golden mantled ground squirrel
survive the long, cold winters in its Montane
habitat?
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Black Bears
Black bear dens
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ELK
Can you tell the difference between the antlers?
Willows
Some of their favorite foods are willow and aspen
bark.
Aspen
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Gray Jay
Stellars Jay
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Subalpine Life Zone
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Subalpine Life Zone
Alpine 11,500 ft.
Subalpine 10,000 11,500 ft.
Montane 8,000 10,000 ft.
Foothills 5,500 8,000 ft.
Riparian
Plains 3,500 5,500 ft.
52
What Is It Like In The Subalpine?
Winter is LONG and summer is SHORT. Snow begins
in early fall and stays until early summer in the
shade of the forest.
Climate
Temperature
Stays below freezing (18-24 F) in the winter, a
little cooler than the Montane Zone in the summer
(62-78 F)
Geography
Located between montane and alpine. This zone is
mostly forested with some meadows.
Deep soils in flat meadows help grasses and
shrubs grow. Trees grow better in less wet, more
rocky soils on the slopes of the valleys.
Soils
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What kinds of plants grow in the Subalpine?
?
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Lodgepole Pine
Limber Pine
Engelmann Spruce
Subalpine Fir
There are 4 different trees in the Subalpine
What adaptation do all these trees have in common?
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What kinds of animals live in the Subalpine?
?
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Chipmunks
Marten
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Porcupine

• Eats plants during summer and eats tree bark in
  the winter time

• They have between 15,000 and 30,000 quills
• Nocturnal animal
• Good swimmer quills keep it afloat!
• It cannot throw its quills!

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Snowshoe Hare
Why does the Snowshoe Hare change colors with the
seasons?
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Bighorn Sheep
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Toads Frogs
Trout live in the small streams.
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Food Web In The Subalpine
Plants eaten by small Animals.
Coyote eats the rabbits
Weasels eat the rabbits
Coyote eats the weasel
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Alpine Life Zone
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Alpine Life Zone
Alpine 11,500 ft.
Subalpine 10,000 11,500 ft.
Montane 8,000 10,000 ft.
Foothills 5,500 8,000 ft.
Riparian
Plains 3,500 5,500 ft.
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What Is It Like In The Alpine?
Coldest Life Zone with VERY strong winds. 12-20
inches of snow falls per year. Snow gets moved
around by the winds.
Climate
Temperature
Around freezing every night of the year.
Geography
Highest life zone. Located above subalpine and
above treeline.
Soils
Very shallow soils. Soils are mostly made up of
rocks and plant roots.
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What kinds of plants grow in the Alpine?
?
66
Plants of the Alpine zone are small in size and
hug the ground.
This is so they are protected from the cold
temperatures, snow and strong winds!
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What kinds of animals live in the Alpine?
?
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Picas are farmers!
Yellow-bellied Marmot
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Ptarmagins change colors like the snowshoe
rabbits.
Who are these ptarmagins hiding from?
70
Alpine Food Web
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Riparian Life Zone
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Riparian Life Zone
Alpine 11,500 ft.
Subalpine 10,000 11,500 ft.
Montane 8,000 10,000 ft.
Foothills 5,500 8,000 ft.
Riparian
Plains 3,500 5,500 ft.
73
What Is It Like In The Riparian?
Similar to the surrounding landscape.
Climate
Temperature
Usually cooler than the surrounding landscape.
Geography
Located around running waters, usually in low
areas on the landscape.
Soils
Mostly composed of sand and gravel that is
created by tumbling rocks in the water. Near the
banks, the soil is usually wet and will support
plants that like wet soils.
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What kinds of plants grow in the Riparian?
?
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Cattails
Sedges
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Cottonwood
Alder
Willow
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What kinds of animals live in the Riparian?
?
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Moose
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River otter
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Blue heron
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Dragonfly
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Wood frog
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Beaver the ecosystem engineer
It lives in lodges in streams and ponds with its
mate for life and 3-4 kits. It is the largest
rodent in North America. It can use its big tail
as a rudder while swimming. It has really long,
dark orange front teeth that help gnaw down
trees. When Europeans first settled they killed
beavers for their fur.
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Riparian Food Web
Bats
Insects
lizards
river otter
Insects
fish
Dead Leaves
aquatic insects
85
Colorado Life Zones
5.
1.
Alpine
Prairie
2.
Foothills
3.
Montane
4.
Subalpine
6.
Riparian