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The Rocky Mountain Front is a somewhat unified geologic and ecosystem area in North America where the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains meet the plains.〔Fitz-Diaz, Hudleston, and Tolson, p. 149; Welsch and Moore, p. 115; Kershaw, p. 25.〕 In 1983, the Bureau of Land Management called the Rocky Mountain Front "a nationally significant area because of its high wildlife, recreation, and scenic values".〔Montana State Office, p. 46.〕 Conservationists Gregory Neudecker, Alison Duvall, and James Stutzman have described the Rocky Mountain Front as an area that warrants "the highest of conservation priorities" because it is largely unaltered by development and contains "unparalleled" numbers of wildlife.〔Neudecker, Duvall, and Stutzman, p. 229.〕 ==Defining the Rocky Mountain Front== Although the Rocky Mountain Front is clearly distinct from both plains and mountains, in places like the Wyoming Basin, Montana, and Mexico it is more ambiguous.〔Wishart, p. xvi-xvii.〕 One definition of the front is that it is a "transition zone between the Rocky Mountains and the mixed grass prairie ... () encompasses a wide variety of wetland, riparian, grassland, and forested habitats".〔(Kudray and Cooper, p. 4. ) Accessed 2013-07-30.〕 By one estimate there are more than of Rocky Mountain Front land in Montana and Canada.〔Brunner, et al., p. 147.〕 The Rocky Mountain Front is such an important geologic feature that it affects the weather in North America. Warm air masses moving from the Gulf of Mexico are blocked by the front from moving west, causing hail, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and other kinds of violent weather which then move east. "Tornado Alley", that part of the Great Plains where tornadoes are most frequent, is a direct outcome of the front's effect on weather.〔Prothero, p. 190.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rocky Mountain Front」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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