Mountain states

An enlargeable map of the Rocky Mountains of western North America.

The Mountain States (also known as the Mountain West and the Interior West) form one of the nine geographic divisions of the United States that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau. It is a subregion of the Western United States. The Mountain States are usually split up into two other regions known as the Northwest and Southwest. Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are considered part of the Northwest, while Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are considered part of the Southwest.

The division consists of eight states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. These eight states have the highest mean elevations of all 50 U.S. states. Together with the Pacific States of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, the Mountain States constitute the broader region of the West, one of the four regions the United States Census Bureau formally recognizes (the Northeast, South, and Midwest being the other three). The word "Mountain" refers to the Rocky Mountains, which run north-south through portions of the states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. Arizona and Nevada, as well as other parts of Utah and New Mexico, have other smaller mountain ranges and scattered mountains located in them as well. Sometimes the Trans-Pecos area of West Texas is considered part of the region.

Mountain Time is observed in nearly the entire division, except Nevada (all but the stateline city of West Wendover) and the Idaho Panhandle. Daylight saving time is not observed in Arizona, except for lands within the Navajo Nation (northeast corner of the state) which observe daylight saving time due to the Nation traversing state lines. For this reason, most of Arizona is one hour behind the rest of the Mountain Time Zone from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November.^[1]

Phoenix is the largest metropolitan area of the Mountain States, followed by Denver, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City.

Regional geography

The Mountain West is one of the largest and most diverse regions in the United States. Most regional boundaries of the Mountain West are often looked at as the area from the High Plains to the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range. The southern and northern portions of the Mountain West are often split into two separate regions. The southern portion (Arizona and New Mexico) is often called the Southwest region, while the northern portion (Idaho and Montana) is often included in either the Northwest states or called the Northern Rockies.^[2] The land area of the eight states together is some 855,767 square miles (2,216,426 square kilometres).

Terrain

The bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in Arizona

The terrain of the Mountain West is more diverse than any other region in the United States. Its physical geography ranges from some of the highest mountain peaks in the continental United States, to large desert lands, and rolling plains in the eastern portion of the region. The Mountain West states contain all of the major deserts found in North America. The Great Basin Desert is located in almost all of Nevada, western Utah, and southern Idaho. Wyoming also has a vast amount of desert land in the southwestern portion of the state, which is known as the Red Desert. Portions of the Mojave Desert are located in California, but over half of the desert is located in southern Nevada, in the Mountain West. Meanwhile, the Sonoran Desert is located in much of Arizona, and the Chihuahuan Desert is located in most of southwestern and southern New Mexico, including White Sands and Jornada del Muerto. Colorado also has scattered desert lands in the southern and northwestern portions of the state including the expansive San Luis Valley.

Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona have other smaller desert lands, part of the Colorado Plateau. The Painted Desert is located in northern and northeastern Arizona, and the San Rafael Desert is located in eastern Utah. New Mexico has other desert lands located in the northern and northwest. Colorado has large desert lands on the Colorado plateau in the northwestern, western, and southern parts of the state. These desert lands in Colorado are located in and around areas such as Royal Gorge, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Pueblo, the San Luis Valley, Cortez, Dove Creek, Delta, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, the Roan Plateau, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado National Monument, and the Grand Mesa.^[3] The San Luis Valley is the largest high valley desert in the world.^{[citation needed]}

In the far eastern portions of the Mountain West are the High Plains, a portion of the Great Plains. These plains mainly consist of flat rolling land, with scattered buttes, canyons, and forests located in these areas. The High Plains receive very little rainfall and sit at high elevations, usually about 3,000 to 6,000 feet (910 to 1,830 m). Many people view the High Plains as the point where one begins to enter the greater Mountain West region.^[4]

The Mountain West has some of the highest mountain peaks in America. Some of the more famous mountains in the Mountain West are Mount Elbert, Pikes Peak, Blanca Peak, Longs Peak, Kings Peak, Wind River Peak, Cloud Peak, Wheeler Peak, Truchas Peak, Granite Peak, Borah Peak, and Humphreys Peak.^[5]

Climate

Snow on the Great Basin Desert of Nevada

The Painted Desert in northeastern Arizona

The climate of the Mountain West is one of the more diverse climates in the United States. The entire region generally features a semi-arid to arid climate, with some alpine climates in the mountains of each state. Some parts of the tall mountains can receive very large amounts of snow and rain, while other parts of the region receive very little rain and virtually no snow at all. The High Plains in the eastern portion of the region receive moderate snowfalls, but virtually very little rain at all.

The states of Nevada and Arizona are generally filled with desert lands and scattered mountain ranges. Much of Nevada receives little to no snow in the southern portion of the state, while northern Nevada can receive large amounts of snow in and around the mountains, and even in the desert lands in Nevada. Arizona generally receives little rain or snow, but high elevations in and near mountains receive extremely large amounts of rain and snow. Northern and northeastern Arizona display characteristics of a "High Desert", where the summers are very hot and dry, while the winters can become very cold and it can snow as well.

Utah is also generally large desert lands with mountains as well. However, the desert lands in Utah receive significant snowfall, and there are large amounts of snowfall on and around the mountains. Colorado and New Mexico have very similar climates. Both states can receive significant snowfalls off the mountains, while the mountains in both states receive extremely large amounts of snow. However, southern and southwestern New Mexico generally does not receive much snow at all, similar to southern Nevada and southern Arizona. The desert lands found in northeastern Arizona, eastern Utah, northern New Mexico, and western and southern Colorado are generally referred to as the "High Desert" lands.

The northern portion of the Mountain West tends to be a bit cooler than the southwestern areas. Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana all receive significant snowfalls off the mountains and very large snowfalls in the mountains. The High Desert also exists in the northern Mountain West. Southeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, and southwestern Wyoming have the Great Basin Desert lands located in them, which is part of the high desert.^[6]

States

The Mountain States by population^[7]
Rank	State	2014 pop est	2010 pop	Change	Capital	Most populous city
1	Arizona	6,731,484	6,392,017	+5.31%	Phoenix	Phoenix
2	Colorado	5,355,866	5,029,196	+6.50%	Denver	Denver
3	Utah	2,942,902	2,763,885	+6.48%	Salt Lake City	Salt Lake City
4	Nevada	2,839,099	2,700,551	+5.13%	Carson City	Las Vegas
5	New Mexico	2,085,572	2,059,179	+1.28%	Santa Fe	Albuquerque
6	Idaho	1,634,464	1,567,582	+4.27%	Boise	Boise
7	Montana	1,023,579	989,415	+3.45%	Helena	Billings
8	Wyoming	584,153	563,626	+3.64%	Cheyenne	Cheyenne
Mountain States		23,197,119	22,065,451	+5.13%		Phoenix

The Mountain States by mean elevation^[8]
Rank	State	Highest point	Highest elevation	Lowest point	Lowest elevation	Mean elevation	Elevation span
1	Colorado	Mount Elbert^[9]	14,440 ft 4401 m	Arikaree River at Kansas border	3,317 ft 1011 m	6,800 ft 2073 m	11,123 ft 3390 m
2	Wyoming	Gannett Peak^[10]	13,809 ft 4209 m	Belle Fourche River at South Dakota border	3,099 ft 945 m	6,700 ft 2042 m	10,710 ft 3265 m
3	Utah	Kings Peak^[11]	13,518 ft 4120 m	Beaver Dam Wash at Arizona border	2,180 ft 664 m	6,100 ft 1859 m	11,338 ft 3456 m
4	New Mexico	Wheeler Peak^[12]	13,167 ft 4013 m	Red Bluff Reservoir on Texas border	2,842 ft 866 m	5,700 ft 1737 m	10,325 ft 3147 m
5	Nevada	Boundary Peak^[13]	13,147 ft 4007 m	Colorado River at California border	479 ft 146 m	5,500 ft 1676 m	12,668 ft 3861 m
6	Idaho	Borah Peak^[14]	12,668 ft 3861 m	Snake River at Washington border	710 ft 216 m	5,000 ft 1524 m	11,958 ft 3645 m
7	Arizona	Humphreys Peak^[15]	12,637 ft 3852 m	Colorado River at Sonora border	70 ft 21 m	4,100 ft 1250 m	12,567 ft 3830 m
8	Montana	Granite Peak^[16]	12,807 ft 3904 m	Kootenai River at Idaho border	1,800 ft 549 m	3,400 ft 1036 m	11,007 ft 3355 m
Mountain States		Mount Elbert^[9]	14,440 ft 4401 m	Colorado River at Sonora border	70 ft 21 m	5,400 ft 1646 m	14,370 ft 4380 m

Cities

The 30 most populous municipalities of the Mountain States^[17]
Rank	Municipality	State	2014 pop est	2010 pop	Change
1	Phoenix	Arizona	1,537,058	1,445,632	+6.32%
2	Denver	Colorado	663,862	600,158	+10.61%
3	Las Vegas	Nevada	613,599	583,756	+5.11%
4	Albuquerque	New Mexico	557,169	545,852	+2.07%
5	Tucson	Arizona	527,972	520,116	+1.51%
6	Mesa	Arizona	464,704	439,041	+5.85%
7	Colorado Springs	Colorado	445,830	416,427	+7.06%
8	Aurora	Colorado	353,108	325,078	+8.62%
9	Henderson	Nevada	277,440	257,729	+7.65%
10	Chandler	Arizona	254,276	236,123	+7.69%
11	Gilbert	Arizona	239,277	208,453	+14.79%
12	Glendale	Arizona	237,517	226,721	+4.76%
13	Reno	Nevada	236,995	225,221	+5.23%
14	North Las Vegas	Nevada	230,788	216,961	+6.37%
15	Scottsdale	Arizona	230,512	217,385	+6.04%
16	Boise	Idaho	216,282	205,671	+5.16%
17	Salt Lake City	Utah	190,884	186,440	+2.38%
18	Tempe	Arizona	172,816	161,719	+6.86%
19	Peoria	Arizona	166,934	154,065	+8.35%
20	Fort Collins	Colorado	156,480	143,986	+8.68%
21	Lakewood	Colorado	149,643	142,980	+4.66%
22	West Valley City	Utah	134,495	129,480	+3.87%
23	Thornton	Colorado	130,307	118,772	+9.71%
24	Surprise	Arizona	126,275	117,517	+7.45%
25	Provo	Utah	114,801	112,488	+2.06%
26	Arvada	Colorado	113,574	106,433	+6.71%
27	Westminster	Colorado	112,090	106,114	+5.63%
28	West Jordan	Utah	110,920	103,712	+6.95%
29	Billings	Montana	108,869	104,170	+4.51%
30	Pueblo	Colorado	108,423	106,595	+1.71%

Census statistical areas

The Las Vegas Strip

The 30 most populous Core Based Statistical Areas of the Mountain States^[18]
Rank	CBSA	2014 pop est	2010 pop	Change
1	Phoenix–Mesa–Scottsdale, AZ MSA	4,489,109	4,192,887	+7.06%
2	Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO MSA	2,754,258	2,543,482	+8.29%
3	Las Vegas–Henderson-Paradise, NV MSA	2,069,681	1,951,269	+6.07%
4	Salt Lake City, UT MSA	1,153,340	1,124,197	+2.59%
5	Tucson, AZ MSA	1,004,516	980,263	+2.47%
6	Albuquerque, NM MSA	904,587	887,077	+1.97%
7	Colorado Springs, CO MSA	686,908	645,613	+6.40%
8	Boise City, ID MSA	664,422	616,561	+7.76%
9	Ogden-Clearfield, UT MSA	632,293	597,159	+5.88%
10	Provo-Orem, UT MSA	571,460	526,810	+8.48%
11	Reno, NV MSA	443,990	425,417	+4.37%
12	Fort Collins, CO MSA	324,122	299,630	+8.17%
13	Boulder, CO MSA	313,333	294,567	+6.37%
14	Greeley, CO MSA	277,670	252,825	+9.83%
15	Prescott, AZ MSA	218,844	211,033	+3.70%
16	Las Cruces, NM MSA	213,676	209,233	+2.12%
17	Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ MSA	203,361	200,186	+1.59%
18	Yuma, AZ MSA	203,247	195,751	+3.83%
19	Billings, MT MSA	166,885	158,050	+5.59%
20	Pueblo, CO MSA	161,875	159,063	+1.77%
21	Saint George, UT MSA	151,948	138,115	+10.02%
22	Grand Junction, CO MSA	148,255	146,723	+1.04%
23	Santa Fe, NM MSA	148,164	144,170	+2.77%
24	Coeur d'Alene, ID MSA	147,326	138,494	+6.38%
25	Idaho Falls, ID MSA	138,266	130,374	+6.05%
26	Flagstaff, AZ MSA	137,682	134,421	+2.43%
27	Logan, UT-ID MSA	131,364	125,442	+4.72%
28	Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ MSA	127,448	131,346	−2.97%
29	Farmington, NM MSA	123,785	130,044	−4.81%
30	Missoula, MT MSA	112,684	109,299	+3.10%

The twelve Combined Statistical Areas of the Mountain States^[19]^[20]
Rank	CSA	2014 pop	2010 pop	Change	Component CBSAs
1	Denver-Aurora, CO CSA	3,345,261	3,090,874	+8.23%	Boulder, CO MSA Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO MSA Greeley, CO MSA
2	Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, UT CSA	2,423,912	2,271,696	+6.70%	Heber, UT µSA Ogden-Clearfield, UT MSA Provo-Orem, UT MSA Salt Lake City, UT MSA Summit Park, UT µSA
3	Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ CSA	2,315,324	2,195,401	+5.46%	Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ MSA Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV MSA Pahrump, NV µSA
4	Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM Combined Statistical Area	1,165,798	1,146,049	+1.72%	Albuquerque MSA Espanola, NM µSA Grants, NM µSA Las Vegas, NM µSA Los Alamos, NM µSA Santa Fe, NM MSA
5	Tucson-Nogales, AZ CSA	1,051,211	1,027,683	+2.29%	Nogales, AZ µSA Tucson, AZ MSA
6	Boise City-Mountain Home-Ontario, ID-OR CSA	743,711	697,535	+6.62%	Boise City, ID MSA Mountain Home, ID µSA Ontario, OR-ID µSA
7	Reno-Carson City-Fernley, NV CSA	597,837	579,668	+3.13%	Carson City, NV MSA Fernley, NV µSA Gardnerville Ranchos, NV µSA Reno-Sparks, NV MSA
8	Idaho Falls-Rexburg-Blackfoot, ID CSA	234,440	229,650	+2.09%	Blackfoot, ID µSA Idaho Falls, ID MSA Rexburg, ID µSA
9	Pueblo-Cañon City, CO CSA	208,377	205,887	+1.21%	Cañon City, CO µSA Pueblo, CO MSA
10	Edwards-Glenwood Springs, CO CSA	128,008	125,734	+1.81%	Edwards, CO µSA Glenwood Springs, CO µSA
11	Clovis-Portales, NM CSA	70,505	68,222	+3.35%	Clovis, NM µSA Portales, NM µSA
12	Steamboat Springs-Craig, CO Combined Statistical Area	36,793	37,304	−1.37%	Craig, CO µSA Steamboat Springs, CO µSA

Gallery

The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in Arizona
Sunset in Saguaro National Park in Arizona
Bell Rock near Sedona, Arizona
Tombstone, Arizona
Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado
The Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado
Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
The rugged San Juan Mountains in Colorado
Borah Peak is the highest point in the state of Idaho.
Hells Canyon of the Snake River between Idaho and Oregon
Redfish Lake in Idaho
Shoshone Falls on the Snake River in Idaho, 1898
The Absaroka Range of Montana.
Autumn comes to Chief Mountain in Glacier National Park in Montana
Feral horses in the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range in Montana
Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park in Montana
Stella Lake in Great Basin National Park in Nevada
The Nevada shore of Lake Tahoe
Downtown Reno, Nevada
Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Taos Pueblo of New Mexico.
The Very Large Array near Socorro, New Mexico
Moonrise at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico
Sunset at Delicate Arch in Arches National Park in Utah
The Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah
Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park in Utah
Zion National Park in Utah
Devils Tower in Wyoming near the Black Hills
Two grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming
Old Faithful geyser erupts in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming
The Teton Range from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Politics

Parties
Democratic	Republican	Populist

Bold denotes election winner.

Year	Arizona	Colorado	Idaho	Montana	Nevada	New Mexico	Utah	Wyoming
Presidential electoral votes in the Mountain States since 1864
1864	No election	No election	No election	No election	Lincoln	No election	No election	No election
1868	No election	No election	No election	No election	Grant	No election	No election	No election
1872	No election	No election	No election	No election	Grant	No election	No election	No election
1876	No election	Hayes	No election	No election	Hayes	No election	No election	No election
1880	No election	Garfield	No election	No election	Hancock	No election	No election	No election
1884	No election	Blaine	No election	No election	Blaine	No election	No election	No election
1888	No election	Harrison	No election	No election	Harrison	No election	No election	No election
1892	No election	Weaver	Weaver	Harrison	Weaver	No election	No election	Harrison
1896	No election	Bryan	Bryan	Bryan	Bryan	No election	Bryan	Bryan
1900	No election	Bryan	Bryan	Bryan	Bryan	No election	McKinley	McKinley
1904	No election	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	No election	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1908	No election	Bryan	Taft	Taft	Bryan	No election	Taft	Taft
1912	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Taft	Wilson
1916	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson
1920	Harding	Harding	Harding	Harding	Harding	Harding	Harding	Harding
1924	Coolidge	Coolidge	Coolidge	Coolidge	Coolidge	Coolidge	Coolidge	Coolidge
1928	Hoover	Hoover	Hoover	Hoover	Hoover	Hoover	Hoover	Hoover
1932	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1936	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1940	Roosevelt	Willkie	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1944	Roosevelt	Dewey	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Dewey
1948	Truman	Truman	Truman	Truman	Truman	Truman	Truman	Truman
1952	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower
1956	Εisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower	Eisenhower
1960	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Kennedy	Kennedy	Nixon	Nixon
1964	Goldwater	Johnson	Johnson	Johnson	Johnson	Johnson	Johnson	Johnson
1968	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon
1972	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon
1976	Ford	Ford	Ford	Ford	Ford	Ford	Ford	Ford
1980	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan
1984	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan
1988	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush
1992	Bush	Clinton	Bush	Clinton	Clinton	Clinton	Bush	Bush
1996	Clinton	Dole	Dole	Dole	Clinton	Clinton	Dole	Dole
2000	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush	Gore	Bush	Bush
2004	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush
2008	McCain	Obama	McCain	McCain	Obama	Obama	McCain	McCain
2012	Romney	Obama	Romney	Romney	Obama	Obama	Romney	Romney
2016	Trump	Clinton	Trump	Trump	Clinton	Clinton	Trump	Trump
Year	Arizona	Colorado	Idaho	Montana	Nevada	New Mexico	Utah	Wyoming