page_title: Mountain states
section_title: Climate
hierarchical_section_title: Mountain states / Climate
caption_attribution_description: English: Snow blanketing Snake Valley and Wheeler Peak.
context_page_description: The Mountain States form one of the nine geographic divisions of the United States that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau. It is a subregion of the Western United States.
  The Mountain States generally are considered to include: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The words "Mountain States" generally refer to the US States which encompass the US Rocky Mountains. These are oriented north-south through portions of the states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. Arizona and Nevada, as well as other parts of Utah and New Mexico, have other smaller mountain ranges and scattered mountains located in them as well. Sometimes, the Trans-Pecos area of West Texas is considered part of the region. The land area of the eight states together is some 855,767 square miles.
  A few Subregions exist within this region:
  The Southwest region consisting of Arizona, New Mexico, Southern Nevada, and deep west Texas
  The Intermountain region consisting of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho along with portions of other states
  The Front Range region consisting of Northern New Mexico, Colorado, and Southeast Wyoming
context_section_description: The climate of the Mountain West is one of the more diverse climates in the United States. The entire region generally features a semi-arid to the arid climate, with some alpine climates in the mountains of each state. Some parts of the tall mountains can receive very large amounts of snow and rain, while other parts of the region received very little rain, and virtually no snow at all. The High Plains in the eastern portion of the region receive moderate snowfalls, but very little rain.
  The states of Nevada and Arizona are generally filled with desert lands and scattered mountain ranges. Much of Nevada receives little to no snow in the southern portion of the state, while northern Nevada can receive large amounts of snow in and around the mountains, and even in the desert lands in Nevada. Arizona generally receives little rain or snow, but high elevations in and near mountains receive extremely large amounts of rain and snow. Northern and northeastern Arizona display characteristics of a "High Desert", where the summers are very hot and dry, while the winters can become very cold, and it can snow as well.
  Utah is also generally large desert lands, with mountains as well. However, the desert lands in Utah receive significant snowfall, and there are large amounts of snowfall on and around the mountains. Colorado and New Mexico have very similar climates. Both states can receive significant snowfalls off the mountains, while the mountains in both states receive extremely large amounts of snow. However, southern and southwestern New Mexico generally does not receive much snow at all, similar to southern Nevada and southern Arizona. The desert lands found in northeastern Arizona, eastern Utah, northern New Mexico, and western and southern Colorado are generally referred to as the "High Desert" lands.
  The northern portion of the Mountain West tends to be a bit cooler than the southwestern areas. Idaho and Montana both receive significant snowfalls off the mountains and very large snowfalls in the mountains. The High Desert also exists in the northern Mountain West. Southeastern Oregon and southern Idaho have the Great Basin Desert lands located in them, which is part of the high desert.
  The eight Mountain States have the highest mean elevations of all 50 U.S. states.
caption: Snow on the Great Basin Desert of Nevada
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