The Southern Rocky Mountain Front is a megaregion of the United States, otherwise known as a

megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enoug ...

, with population centers consisting mainly of the Front Range Urban Corridor and the

Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Las Vegas combined statistical area The Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Las Vegas combined statistical area (known as the Santa Fe–Española combined statistical area until 2013) is made up of eight counties in north central New Mexico. The combined statistical area consists of the Albuq ...

, located along the eastern and southern face of the

Southern Rocky Mountains The Southern Rocky Mountains are a major subregion of the Rocky Mountains of North America located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, the central and western portions of Colorado, the northern portion of New Mexico, and ex ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its s ...

s of

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, ...

. The region comprises the southern portion of the Rocky Mountain Front geographic region of Canada and the United States, extending into the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, ...

. The Southern Rocky Mountain Front had a population of 5,467,633 according to the

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

. The region is one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, and its population is projected to grow by 87% to 10,222,370 by 2050. In 2005 the GDP of the region was $229,202,000,000 making up 2% of the United States GDP.

Extent

The Southern Rocky Mountain Front stretches from

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, north along Interstate Highway 25 to

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistica ...

, and includes the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the

Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley. Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Denver ...

, the Pueblo, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Cheyenne, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area, the

Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

, the Albuquerque, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the Santa Fe, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area. The region comprises three primary subregions: the South Central Colorado Urban Area, the

North Central Colorado Urban Area 240px, An enlargeable map of the 13-county North Central Colorado Urban Area The North Central Colorado Urban Area comprises the four contiguous metropolitan statistical areas in the north central region of the State of Colorado: the Denver–Aur ...

, and the

Cheyenne Metropolitan Area The Cheyenne Metropolitan Statistical Area is a United States Census Bureau defined Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) located in the Cheyenne region of the State of Wyoming. The Cheyenne Metropolitan Statistical Area is defined as Laramie Cou ...

. The influence of the region extends well beyond its defined boundaries. The

Colorado Eastern Plains The Eastern Plains of Colorado refers to a region of the U.S. state of Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains and east of the population centers of the Front Range. Geography The Eastern Plains are part of the High Plains, which are the weste ...

Nebraska Panhandle The Nebraska Panhandle is an area in the western part of the state of Nebraska and one of several U.S. state panhandles, or elongated geographical regions that extend from their main political entity. The Nebraska panhandle is two-thirds as br ...

and

Albany County, Wyoming Albany County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 37,066. Its county seat is Laramie, the site of the University of Wyoming. Its south border lies on the northern Colorado state ...

, among other areas, are culturally and economically tied to the region, though they are not considered a part of it. MapofEmergingUSMegaregions

Transportation

Rail

The region was established, along with ten other megaregions throughout the United States, by America 2050 in response to President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

’s efforts to improve the country’s infrastructure. The megaregions were initially identified by America 2050 as areas that should have highspeed rail by 2050. According to America 2050’s four phase plan the Front Range would have highspeed rail on Phase 3 of the plan and the line would stretch from

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unite ...

Interstates and highways

Interstate 25 runs through the Southern Rocky Mountain Front north from

Albuquerque, NM Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

Cheyenne, WY Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistica ...

. Major east and west routes running through the region are I-40 through

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, I-70 through

Denver Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...

, and I-80 through

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enro ...

. *

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

runs north–south from

through Denver to

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

runs east–west through the region from

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean ...

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

runs east–west through the region from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

runs east–west through the region from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Airports

The region has seven airports offering passenger services with two of the airports,

Albuquerque International Sunport Albuquerque International Sunport is the primary international airport serving the U.S. state of New Mexico, the Albuquerque metropolitan area, and the larger Albuquerque– Santa Fe– Las Vegas combined statistical area. It handles around ...

and

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport ...

, able to handle international flights.

List of airports offering passenger services

Municipalities

References

External links

United States Census Bureau
** {{authority control Megapolitan areas of the United States Metropolitan areas of Colorado Metropolitan areas of New Mexico Metropolitan areas of Wyoming Regions of the United States

Extent

Transportation

Rail

Interstates and highways

Airports

List of airports offering passenger services

Municipalities

See also

References

External links