AttachmentD_-_Description_Guide.pdf

Alt Text:

A park map depicting Rocky Mountain National Park, including main roadways, trails, visitor centers, and surrounding towns. The map shows an elevational gradient depicting lower valleys in green and transitions to tan and white in the higher alpine areas. Lakes and creeks are shown in blue.

Extended Description:

In the northernmost third of the park, the Rocky Mountains zig to the west and then zag east and south at a shallow angle, off the bottom of the map. Roads cut horizontally across the park where the mountains shift direction, and more roads border the west and east edges. The paler green areas around Rocky Mountain National Park are additional wildernesses and forests.

A legend at the bottom of the map explains symbology for roads, trails, overlooks, and tundra areas.

There are also symbols for features and amenities.

More than 100 peaks, falls, creeks, lakes, ponds, passes, trails, and glaciers are labeled within Rocky Mountain National Park. We will start in the north by naming a few features there and will work our way south. Then the major roads will be described, along with the visitor centers and some of the sights. Next will be a list of the adjacent protected areas surrounding Rocky Mountain National Park, and then a full transcription of the legend.

Northern Region The Mummy Range takes up the top third of the park. A chain of lakes near the northeast corner include Lakes Dunraven, Louise, Husted, and Lost Lake. They lead to Rowe Glacier at the western end and Lost Falls, the North Fork Trail, and the Fork Big Thompson River to the east. Near the center of the Mummy Range, Ypsilon Mountain is the tallest in this region at 13,514 feet or 4,119 meters.

A rectangular section jutting off the northwestern corner of the park encloses the Never Summer Mountains, a vertical row of peaks that starts at the north with Mount Richthofen, Tepee Mountain, Lead Mountain, Mount Cirrus, Howard Mountain, Mount Cumulus, Mount Nimbus, Mount Stratus, and Baker Mountain. All are about 12,700 feet or 3,800 meters high.

The Continental Divide hugs the western and northern edges of the Never Summer Mountains before cutting down through the rest of the park at a southeast angle. About three-quarters of the way down the park, it changes course to run vertically off the bottom edge of the map.

Southern Region Forest Canyon runs roughly parallel to and south of the cluster of roads. Spruce Canyon joins it at the southern end near the Bighorn Flats. The Long Meadows are to the west, Paradise Park is in the south, and dozens of mountains create loose ridges throughout. The tallest peaks in this region are clustered not far from where the Continental Divide turns south. Chiefs Head Peak, Pagoda Mountain, and Mount Meeker measure between 13,500 and 13,900 feet, or over 4,100 meters. The neighboring Longs Peak towers even higher at 14,259 feet or 4,346 meters.

Roads, Sights, and Amenities The roads together make an upside-down U shape up along one side of the park, across its width, and down the other side. US Route 34 runs north-south along the western edge of the park before spanning the park and continuing off to the east, well beyond the park boundary. US Route 34 is called Trail Ridge Road where it crosses the park. A text box near that road reads, “Tundra Closures:

Tundra closure areas along Trail Ridge Road are designated to restrict use and protect the fragile alpine ecosystem. Off-trail hiking is prohibited within 100 yards of the trails and parking lots.” Near the eastern edge of the park, US Route 36 heads eastward from US Route 34 at Deer Ridge Junction and continues past the park boundary. Bear Lake Road branches off from US Route 36 and winds southwest before ending at Bear Lake, just over halfway down the park. State Route 7 parallels the park up its eastern border.

Dozens of trailheads, campgrounds, overlooks, picnic areas, boat launches, and restrooms are marked along the roads. The north-south portion of US Route 34 enters the southern corner of the park at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, which is open all year. Farther north, the Holzwarth Historic Site is near Timber Creek and Beaver Ponds by the Never Summer Mountains. Visitor centers from west to east across the park are the Alpine Visitor Center with a seasonal snack bar, the Fall River Visitor Center near Aspenglen, the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, which is the Park Headquarters and is also open all year, and the seasonal Moraine Park Discovery Center.

Areas Outside Rocky Mountain National Park To the west, from south to north, are Arapaho National Forest, the Never Summer Wilderness, Routt National Forest, Colorado State Forest, Rawah Wilderness, Roosevelt National Forest, and the Neota Wilderness. The Comanche Peak Wilderness stretches over the northern border of the park, Roosevelt National Forest extends down the east side, and the Indian Peaks Wilderness is to the south.

Legend Bold, red text at the top reads, “Do not use this map for backcountry hiking. Buy topographic maps at visitor centers.” Roads, trails, and features are explained below as follows:

• Pink area with red stripes for tundra closure areas,

• A small black semicircle on a red road for Overlooks,

• Thin, parallel lines for Unpaved roads,

• Dashed line for Hiking trails,

• Dashed line edged with yellow for the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail,

• Dotted line for the Continental Divide,

• A red triangle next to the text “5mi 8km” represents a distance indicator.

Amenity icons symbolize ranger stations, campgrounds, picnic areas, boat launches, stables, wheelchair-accessible sites, self-guiding nature trails, restrooms, telephones, and emergency telephones.

Alt-Text Overview should be limited to 3-4 sentences describing the overall purpose of the map using the following format:

Intro sentence describing the type of map (park map, area map, aerial “birds eye” view, battle map, geologic diagram, etc) and include official park name.

Supporting sentences describe the visual qualities of the map including colors used, and any visual characteristics.

Alt Text and Extended Description Guide

Extended Description Provide a detailed description of the map’s primary content. This includes major roads, cities, visitor centers, trailheads, and other points of interest. Include description of services identified through symbols or pictographs. For complex maps, break the description into geographic regions (ex. northern and southern region). Describe the geographic relationship for major points of interest.

Legend Provide any bolded text boxes associated with the map, ex. “Do not use this map for backcountry hiking...” Include a description of the map’s legend content including roads, trails, closure areas, NPS boundary, and any symbols or pictographs.

Also include a mention of the the map’s scale and north arrow orientation. Unigrid Brochure Map of Rocky Mountain National Park