Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, commonly known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. Within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada which all lie further to the west.

The Rocky Mountains were initially formed from 80 million to 55 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny, in which a number of plates began to slide underneath the North American plate. The angle of subduction was shallow, resulting in a broad belt of mountains running down western North America. Since then, further tectonic activity and erosion by glaciers have sculpted the Rockies into dramatic peaks and valleys. At the end of the last ice age, humans started to inhabit the mountain range. After Europeans, such as Sir Alexander Mackenzie and Americans, such as the Lewis and Clark expedition, started to explore the range, minerals and furs drove the initial economic exploitation of the mountains, although the range itself never became densely populated.

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver, Colorado.. They are currently members of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s National League (NL) West division. Their home venue is Coors Field. Their current manager is Walt Weiss. The Rockies have won one National League championship (2007). They mounted a rally in the last month of the 2007 regular season, winning 21 of their final 22 games, and reached the 2007 World Series. However, they were swept by the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox in four games.

History

Denver had long been a hotbed of Denver Bears/Zephyrs Minor league baseball and many in the area desired a Major League team. Following the Pittsburgh drug trials, an unsuccessful attempt was made to purchase the Pittsburgh Pirates and relocate them. However, in 1991, as part of Major League Baseball's two-team expansion (they also added the Florida (now Miami) Marlins), an ownership group representing Denver led by John Antonucci and Michael I. Monus were granted a franchise; they took the name "Rockies" due to Denver's proximity to the Rocky Mountains, which is reflected in their logo. Monus and Antonucci were forced to drop out in 1992 after Monus' reputation was ruined by an accounting scandal. Trucking magnate Jerry McMorris stepped in at the 11th hour to save the franchise, allowing the team to begin play in 1993. The Rockies shared Mile High Stadium (which had originally been built for the Zephyrs) with the National Football League's Denver Broncos their first two seasons while Coors Field was constructed. It was completed for the 1995 Major League Baseball season.

The Rockies (disambiguation)

The Rockies can mean the following:

See also