United States, Mountain West

The mountain west region encompasses four states: Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

These states represent the northern, middle, and southern Rocky Mountain physiographic regions in the United States. This area is one of the most diverse regions in the United States because it includes eight different physiographic provinces: The Great Plains, the northern Rockies, the middle Rockies, the southern Rockies, the Wyoming Basin, the Columbia Plateau, the Basin and Range, and the Colorado Plateau. This diversity in geology and geomorphology also translates into differences in climate, vegetation, and wildlife habitat. In addition, the natural resources in this area attracted the early pioneers and the different amenities are attracting a new and expanding western population.

This portion of the United States occupies over 432,538 square miles (1.12 million ...