The Ridges

The Ridges are a prominent chain of uplands characterized by linear summits, escarpments, and intervening valleys that traverse multiple jurisdictions. The feature influences regional climate, watershed patterns, and human settlement, linking a series of notable peaks, protected areas, and cultural landmarks across its extent. Geologists, ecologists, and planners from institutions such as United States Geological Survey, Natural Resources Canada, British Geological Survey, Smithsonian Institution, and Royal Society have studied the formation, biodiversity, and anthropogenic impacts on the chain.

Geography and Topography

The Ridges extend along a corridor that intersects provinces and states represented by Alberta, British Columbia, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington (state), California, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia (U.S. state), Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York (state), Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and linkages to highlands such as the Appalachian Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada (United States), Cascade Range, Coast Mountains, Alaska Range, and Laurentian Highlands. Major summits within adjacent landscapes include Mount Rainier, Mount Whitney, Mount Elbert, Pikes Peak, Mount Katahdin, White Mountain Peak, Mount Robson, Ben Nevis, Mount Logan, Denali, Mount Columbia, Mount Assiniboine, Mount Temple, Mount Robson Provincial Park, Glacier National Park (U.S.), and Banff National Park. River systems feeding from the Ridges link to drainage basins like the Mississippi River, Mackenzie River, Yukon River, St. Lawrence River, Columbia River, Colorado River, Rio Grande, Fraser River, Skeena River, and Saskatchewan River. The topography includes features similar to Grand Canyon, Badlands National Park, Great Plains, Canadian Shield, and karst systems akin to those in Mammoth Cave National Park.

History and Formation

Tectonic processes associated with ancient orogenies such as the Laramide orogeny, Taconic orogeny, Acadian orogeny, and Grenville orogeny shaped the uplift and folding that produced the Ridges. Stratigraphic records reference formations comparable to the Burgess Shale, Morrison Formation, Chalk Group, Dolomite, and Basalt flows related to events like the Siberian Traps and Deccan Traps in global context. Paleontologists working at sites analogous to Dinosaur Provincial Park, Yixian Formation, Hell Creek Formation, Green River Formation, La Brea Tar Pits, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, and Kenya Rift have correlated fossils indicating faunal turnovers coincident with mass extinctions such as the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Human history includes indigenous presence linked to peoples comparable with Haida, Cree, Blackfoot, Lakota, Navajo Nation, Apache, Inuit, Métis, Ojibwe, Mi'kmaq, and interactions during exploration eras tied to figures like Lewis and Clark Expedition, John C. Frémont, Samuel de Champlain, Jacques Cartier, Captain James Cook, Henry Hudson, Francis Drake, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Christopher Columbus, Hernán Cortés, Alexander Mackenzie, Sir John Franklin, David Thompson, and trading companies such as the Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company.

Ecology and Biodiversity

Flora across the Ridges shows affinities to biomes represented by Boreal forest, temperate rainforest, Montane ecosystem, Subalpine zone, Alpine tundra, prairie, and Mediterranean climate woodlands. Representative plant taxa include relatives of Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, Engelmann spruce, Lodgepole pine, Quaking aspen, Sugar maple, Western hemlock, Redwood, Sequoia, Joshua tree, Agave americana, and species akin to those in Sphagnum bogs. Fauna recorded or analogous to those in adjacent protected areas include Grizzly bear, Black bear, Gray wolf, Coyote, Mountain lion, Bobcat, Elk, Mule deer, White-tailed deer, Bighorn sheep, Moose, Caribou, Pronghorn, Wolverine, Cougar, Beaver, River otter, Pika, Marmot, American pika, Snowy owl, Bald eagle, Golden eagle, Peregrine falcon, Sage grouse, California condor, Black-footed ferret, Monarch butterfly, Karner blue butterfly and amphibians like Axolotl-analogues in isolated wetlands. Conservation biologists reference threats paralleling those in IPCC, Convention on Biological Diversity, Ramsar Convention, Endangered Species Act, Species at Risk Act, and mitigation strategies used by organizations including World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Parks Canada, National Park Service, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Conservation International.

Human Use and Conservation

Resource extraction histories mirror those of regions impacted by Klondike Gold Rush, California Gold Rush, Silver Boom, Alaskan oil boom, Fort McMurray oil sands, Anthracite coal region, Appalachian coal mining, and timber industries represented by companies like Weyerhaeuser, Resolute Forest Products, Sierra Pacific Industries, and historical actors such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. Infrastructure corridors include transportation routes comparable to Trans-Canada Highway, Interstate 90, Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, Canadian Pacific Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Via Rail Canada, Amtrak, and airfields like Vancouver International Airport, Denver International Airport, Anchorage International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport. Conservation efforts employ mechanisms seen in creation of World Heritage Site designations, national and provincial parks such as Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Jasper National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Grand Teton National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Denali National Park and Preserve, Waterton Lakes National Park, and community-based stewardship by groups like Trust for Public Land, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Forest Stewardship Council, National Audubon Society, and International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Recreation and Tourism

Recreational use resembles activities in destinations such as Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise (Alberta), Yosemite Valley, Zion National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier National Park (U.S.), Denali, Mount Rainier National Park, Sequoia National Park, Redwood National and State Parks, Olympic National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Acadia National Park, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Activities include mountaineering reminiscent of ascents on Mount Everest, K2, Aconcagua, Kangchenjunga, Makalu, Cho Oyu, and Lhotse in technical challenge; backcountry skiing as in Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Whistler Blackcomb; rock climbing comparable to El Capitan, El Potrero Chico, Smith Rock State Park; mountain biking on trails like those in Moab, Utah; whitewater rafting analogous to Colorado River runs; fishing similar to seasons on the Fraser River, Columbia River, Madison River; and wildlife viewing akin to safaris in Maasai Mara and birding circuits centered on Point Pelee National Park and Monhegan Island. Visitor management employs techniques used in Leave No Trace (organization), permit systems like Alpine Club of Canada and American Alpine Club, reservation platforms like Recreation.gov and Parks Canada Reservation Service, and economic models referenced by UN World Tourism Organization and OECD.

Category:Mountain ranges