Colorado has a diversity of ecosystem types, each of which may be broken down into many finer categories Colorado has a diversity of ecosystem types, each of which may be broken down into many finer categories. Shown in this display are a number of the major ecosystem types on the East Slope of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, along with a few of their representative plant species. In future displays, ecosystems of the West Slope will be featured. Colorado owes its large ecosystem variety to the environmental diversity throughout the state. Differences in the environment are primarily due to the effects of the Rocky Mountains, which divide the state in half.
Mountains cause a number of climatic changes.
For example, as warm air rises while traversing the mountains from the west, it is cooled. Cooler air has less capacity to hold water, which causes high precipitation on the West Slope of the mountains. This rain shadow extends throughout the eastern plains of Colorado, and is largely responsible for the semi-arid climate that characterizes the region. Although changes in precipitation may be the most profound of the climatic effects wrought by the mountains, climate is affected in other ways as well. From the eastern plains up into the mountains, precipitation generally increases, and the average temperature decreases.