Sprague Mountain

Rocky Mountain National Park is a national park of the United States located approximately 55 mi (89 km) northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and Grand Lake to the west. The eastern and western slopes of the Continental Divide run directly through the center of the park with the headwaters of the Colorado River located in the park's northwestern region. The main features of the park include mountains, alpine lakes and a wide variety of wildlife within various climates and environments, from wooded forests to mountain tundra. The Rocky Mountain National Park Act was signed by President Woodrow Wilson on January 26, 1915, establishing the park boundaries and protecting the area for future generations. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the main automobile route, Trail Ridge Road, in the 1930s. In 1976, UNESCO designated the park as one of the first World Biosphere Reserves. In 2023, 4.1 million recreational visitors entered the park. The park is one of the most visited in the National Park System, ranking as the third most visited national park in 2015. In 2019, the park saw record attendance yet again with 4,678,804 visitors, a 44% increase since 2012. The park has five visitor centers, with park headquarters located at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center—a National Historic Landmark designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin West. National Forest lands surround the park on all sides, including Roosevelt National Forest to the north and east, Routt National Forest to the north and west, and Arapaho National Forest to the west and south, with the Indian Peaks Wilderness area located directly south of the park.

. This is a comprehensive listing of the bird species recorded in Rocky Mountain National Park, a 265,461 acres (107,428 ha) park in the U.S. state of Colorado. This list is based on one published by the National Park Service (NPS). This list is presented in the taxonomic sequence of the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds, 7th edition through the 65th Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS). Common and scientific names are also those of the Check-list, except that the common names of families are from the Clements taxonomy because the AOS list does not include them. This list contains 265 species and eight identifiable subspecies or forms when taxonomic changes have been made. Unless otherwise noted, all are considered to occur regularly in Rocky Mountain National Park as permanent residents, summer or winter visitors, or migrants. The tags below are used to designate the abundance of some less-common species. (R) Rare - "usually seen only a few times each year" per the NPS (60 species) (U) Uncommon - "likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season and may be locally common" per the NPS (82 species) (O) Occasional - "occur in a park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year" per the NPS (58 species) (H) Historical - "not in park" per the NPS, but historical records exist (6 species) (Unc) Unconfirmed - "Attributed to the park based on weak ... or no evidence, giving minimal indication of the species' occurrence in the park" per the NPS (12 species) (I) Introduced - a species introduced to North America by humans (5 species)

Sprague Glacier is a small cirque glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park in the U.S. state of Colorado. Sprague Glacier is on the east side of the Continental Divide and .25 mi (0.40 km) southeast of Sprague Mountain. Several small alpine lakes are near the foot of the glacier.

Hayden Spire is a 12,480+ foot elevation (3,800 meter) pillar located in Rocky Mountain National Park, in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. It is situated 12 miles west of the community of Estes Park in Hayden Gorge, along a short spur on the Continental Divide. Hayden Spire is part of the Front Range which is a subset of the Rocky Mountains. It is the highest tower in a cluster of spires which can be viewed from Forest Canyon Overlook along the Trail Ridge Road. Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises 2,100 feet (640 meters) above Hayden Gulch in one-half mile. Neighbors include Terra Tomah Mountain two miles to the north, and Mount Julian 1.8 mile to the northwest.

Stones Peak is a 12,922-foot-elevation (3,939-meter) mountain summit located in Larimer County, Colorado. It is situated in Rocky Mountain National Park, one mile east of the Continental Divide and 11.5 miles (18.5 km) west of the community of Estes Park. Stones Peak is part of the Front Range which is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the Big Thompson River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 3,900 feet (1,200 meters) above the Big Thompson River in Forest Canyon in two miles. The peak is a prominent landmark viewed from Forest Canyon Overlook along the Trail Ridge Road.

Terra Tomah Mountain is a 12,718-foot-elevation (3,876-meter) mountain summit located in Rocky Mountain National Park, in Larimer County, of Colorado, United States. It is situated 13 miles west of the community of Estes Park, and 1.5 mile east of the Continental Divide. Terra Tomah Mountain is part of the Front Range which is a subset of the Rocky Mountains. Topographic relief is significant as the northeast aspect rises 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) above Forest Canyon in 1.5 mile. It is a prominent landmark viewed from Forest Canyon Overlook along the Trail Ridge Road.

Mount Julian is a mountain summit in the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 12,933-foot (3,942 m) peak is located in the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, 12.2 miles (19.7 km) west (bearing 268°) of the Town of Estes Park in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The mountain was named in honor of Julian Hayden, a civil engineer who lived in Estes Park.

The High Rockies, or high country, is a term for a region of the U.S. state of Colorado. It commonly includes Larimer County, Jackson County, Routt County, Grand County, Summit County, Eagle County, Lake County, and Pitkin County. Some notable towns there include Estes Park, Walden, Steamboat Springs, Grand Lake, Winter Park, Breckenridge, Dillon, Vail, Leadville, and Aspen. The geography of the High Rockies has some of the most rugged parts of the Rocky Mountains and consists of the Front Range and mountainous topography to the west, much of which is on or near the Continental Divide. Known for pine forests and winding roads, the former mining towns there have been reinvented by wilderness tourism such as hiking, cycling, fishing, and most especially both cross-country and alpine skiing. Notable ski resorts include Copper Mountain, Keystone Resort, Steamboat Ski Resort, Beaver Creek Resort, Buttermilk, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass, and Aspen Mountain. The High Rockies are also the location of Rocky Mountain National Park and Arapaho National Forest.

Hidden River is a tributary of Spruce Creek in Larimer County, Colorado. The stream's source is near the summit of Stones Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. It flows southeast to a confluence with Spruce Creek in Spruce Canyon.

Ptarmigan Pass, elevation 12,168 ft (3,709 m), is a mountain pass that crosses the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado in the United States.

The Beatrice Willard Alpine Tundra Research Plots were established in 1959 along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, above the treeline in an alpine tundra habitat. The plots were used by Beatrice Willard of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado from 1959 to about 1999 in a long-term study of the alpine ecosystem. Willard's dissertation and updates, as well as her book Land Above the Trees: A Guide to American Alpine Tundra were highly influential in studies of alpine and tundra ecology. Her recommendations were used by the National Park Service in its management of the high alpine areas of the park. Willard's work continued after she moved on to other work, and for the last twenty years she made informal visits to the plots. There are two plots. The Rock Cut Plot is at an elevation of 12,110 feet (3,690 m) near the Rock Cut parking area. The research plot is 5 feet (1.5 m) by 20 feet (6.1 m), within a 50-foot (15 m) by 40-foot (12 m) enclosure. A 3 feet (0.91 m) fence keeps park visitors from disturbing the plot, and is marked by an explanatory sign. An old footpath runs through the plot, and was monitored to establish rates of regrowth on the tundra. The Forest Canyon Plot is at an elevation of 11,716 feet (3,571 m), measuring only 10 feet (3.0 m) square, originally protected by a metal fence. It is close to the Forest Canyon Overlook. The plots were placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 25, 2007.

Tyndall Glacier is a small cirque glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park in the U.S. state of Colorado. Tyndall Glacier is on the east side of the Continental Divide and in a cirque to the north of Hallett Peak. Tyndall Glacier is both an ice and a rock glacier, with the lower portions of the glacier being composed primarily of rock debris and a small portion of ice. Tyndall Glacier is named after John Tyndall, an Irish scientist and Alpine mountaineer who in 1861 first ascended the Weisshorn in 1861. He also made an early attempt on the Matterhorn prior to its first ascent. In 1861, Tyndall identified carbon dioxide as a heat-trapping greenhouse gas; the glacier that bears his name appears to be retreating.