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A birder's guide to a very special place.

Geographic Terminology

what do the terms mean?

East and West Slope

Colorado is split into east and west slopes by the Continental Divide, which is the boundary between drainages that lead to the Pacific Ocean and drainages that lead to the Atlantic. The resulting division is often considered to be cultural and economic as well as geographic.

Front Range

The Front Range is Colorado's easternmost mountain range, which runs north-south from Milner Pass on the Larimer/Grand County line to Pikes Peak in the south. By extension, the term is also used to refer to the urban corridor which covers the adjacent plains from Fort Collins south to Pueblo. Three million of Colorado's four million people live along the Front Range.

The Front Range foothill valleys are sometimes referred to as the Colorado Piedmont.

Intermountain Parks

In Colorado, the term "park" is used to describe wide high-elevation intermountain valleys...hence the valleys of North, Middle and South Park and the towns of Estes Park and Winter Park. The general term "intermountain parks" or "mountain parks" is often used to refer not only to the places just mentioned but to all the high-elevation valleys, including the San Luis Valley (SLV) and the Gunnison Basin.

Featured Location

Castlewood Canyon State Park
Douglas County

Cliff Face, Ponderosa Forest, Mixed Conifer Forest, Scrub Oak Forest, Grassland/Prairie

Learn More

Contributing Authors

Henry Armknecht Forrest Luke
Jason Beason Rich Miller
James Beatty Mark Minner-Lee
James D. Beatty Steven Mlodinow
Jim Berry SeEtta Moss
Sue Bonfield Mark Peterson
Allan Burns Nathan Pieplow
Todd Deininger Kim Potter
Jared Del Rosso Joe Roller
Coen Dexter Chris Rurik
Lisa Edwards Bill Schmoker
David M. Elwonger Randall Siebert
Barry Gingrich Dave Silverman
Dona Hilkey Virginia Simmons
Charles Hundertmark Andrew Spencer
Jeff Jones Steve Stachowiak
Bill Kaempfer David Suddjian
Hugh Kingery John Toolen
Nicholas Komar Linda Vidal
David Leatherman Mark Yaeger
Tony Leukering The Yampa Valley Birding Club
Rich Levad Sherrie York
Tom Litteral Eric Zorawowicz

Photo Credits

Margaret Arp Dick Maxfield
Carol Blackard Bill Maynard
Steve Bouricious Matt Newport
Steve Brown Christian Nunes
Bill Eden Brandon Percival
David Elwonger Nathan Pieplow
Dennis Garrison Ken Rush
Bruce Gill Bill Schmoker
Gregg Goodrich Larry Semo
Pat Gould Scott Severs
Larry Griffin Andrew Spencer
BB Hahn Jane Stulp
Thomas Heinrich Joel Such
Rachel Hopper Van Truan
Greg Joder Glenn Walbek
Dave Leatherman Cole Wild
Thomas Lechleitner Larry Wilson
Tony Leukering Sherman Wing
Dan Makolondra Chris Wood

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