Colorado bushes

[colorado71]

I am working at a Colorado narrow gauge layout. Can someone tell me, please, what species of bushes grow on the mountains and valleys from south-western Colorado.
Thank you.

 

[American_Connections]

Trees

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Trees_of_Colorado

 

[wreeder]

Also:

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=17583&highlight=Colorado+trees

http://www.upproject.org/cpnativeplant_program/folder_nativeplantlist/np_mainplant.htm



The thing to remember is that the flora changes with the elevation and in the south west corner you can see either the Colorado Plateau ecosystem or the Rocky Mountain ecosystem. The RGS ran through both and they are very different.

William

 

[dmdrake]

Forest types

Check out the following page on my site: http://www.ttbwrr.com/TTBWRR-TREES-Forest-Types.htm

It will help you with tree selection and forested areas. All of the content mentioned and shown is available on the DLS.
There is also a tutorial on how to use the splines.

 

[colorado71]

Many thanks for your responses.
As I understand, concerning the trees, generally, in Colorado there is a stratification of forests with pine trees at lower altitude, in the neighbourhood of the Great Plains, a stratum of quaking aspen on the lower mountain ranges, then a stratum of coniferous (fir, spruce, douglas), and finally the alpine zone with juniper bushes and bared rocks.
Sometimes the quaking aspen forests ascend at higher altitudes on the mountain sides with a southern disposition, and the coniferous forests descent in the shadowed dark valleys and on the mountain sides with a northern disposition.
Along the valleys and streams grow the cottonwood trees, and on the rocky places, cedars (a variety of pine tree, I think).
Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[wreeder]

Well, it is hard to make any general statements about Colorado because there are many different ecosystems. First thing to know is that at the eastern edge of the Rockies the elevation is about 5000 feet above sea level. Most passes in the Rockies are above 10,000 feet and the peaks of many mountains are above 14,000 feet. Snow melt provides much of the water for plants at higher elevations and snow is not unusual any time of the year above 10,000 feet. The old timers on the RGS would joke there were two season at Lizard Head Pass, the fourth of July and winter.

The Chart in the other thread is hard to read so here is what it says:

Lower Montane Zone ~6000' to ~8000' Growing season 137 Days
Mean Air Temperature 47 degrees

Mountain Mahogany
Rocky Mountain Juniper
Douglas Fir
Ponderosa Pine

Lower/Upper Mountane Transition Zone ~7800' to ~8000'

Mixture of the two Zones

Upper Mountane Zone ~8000' to ~9000' Growing season 100 Days
Mean Air Temperature 42 degrees

Ponderosa Pine
Limber Pine
Lodgepole Pine
Douglas Fir
Aspen

Upper Montaine/ SubAlpine Transition Zone ~9000' to ~9400'

Mixture of the two Zones

SubAlpine Zone ~9400 to ~11,000 Growing season 47 Days
Mean Air Temperature 34 degrees

Aspen
Lodgepole Pine
Limber Pine
Engelmann Spruce

Above 11,000' there are very few trees, mostly alpine meadows.

That's a good cross section of the mountain ecosystems. Of course, as you say there are Cottonwoods in the valleys and other species of Spruce and Aspens in different ecosystems. And the Colorado Plateau is a high desert so you have a totally different ecosystem there.

You did a pretty good job with your last route. I would say go to a photo site like http://www.pbase.com and search for the towns you want to model to get a selection of photos of the area.

Here is a very good site (It can be hard to reach sometimes)

http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/introductory information.htm#VEGETATIVE ZONES

William

 

[American_Connections]

Variety

a stratification of forests with pine trees at lower altitude, quaking aspen on the lower mountain ranges, coniferous (fir, spruce, douglas), and finally the alpine zone with juniper bushes and bared rocks.
quote]Man, I don't know so much about colorado, but this (reversed), describes eastern oregon, all within a five mile radius of my home there!