The rocky mountains are a bit of an anomaly. They are not at a plate boundary like most ranges around the world. The current theory is that the Farallon plate subducted shallowly under the north american plate causing it to rub against the ...
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_were_the_Rocky_Mountains_...
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The Southern mountains of the Rockies were formed in the late Precambrian, around 600 million years ago, whereas the Northern mountains were formed in the late Cretaceous to early Tertiary, around 70-65 million years ago.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_were_the_rocky_mountains...
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This brought on the first orogeny, known as the Columbia (it formed the Columbia Mountains made up of the Caribous, Selkirks, ... Conversely, mountains formed in dipping troughs, are known as synclinal mountains. Cirrus Mountain in Banff National Park, and Mount Kerkeslin in Jasper National Park are examples.
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www.mountainnature.com/geology/platetectonics.htm
www.mountainnature.com/geology/platetectonics.htm
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The western United States and the Rocky Mountains took shape during three major mountain building episodes between 170-40 million years ago (MYA). The Laramide Orogeny (70-40 MYA) was the last of these and formed the fundamental structures of the modern Rocky Mountains.
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www.8750.com/rockymtns.asp
www.8750.com/rockymtns.asp
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Re: Why do the Rocky Mountains occur so far from a plate boundary? Date: Wed Sep 23 16:02:56 1998; Posted By: David Smith, Faculty Geology, Environmental Science; ... Now, let's get to how the mountains formed. Plate interactions can, in fact, spread fairly far from plate boundaries under the right conditions.
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www.madsci.org/posts/archives/oct98/906593689.Es.r.html
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The Rocky Mountains took shape during a period of intense plate tectonic activity that formed much of the rugged landscape of the western United States. Three major mountain-building episodes reshaped the west from about 170 to 40 million years ago (Jurassic to Cenozoic Periods).
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vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicPast/Places/volca...
vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicPast/Places/volcanic_past_rocky_mountains.html
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The Rocky Mountains ... (See Animals page.) Finally, they reached the Three Forks, where the Missouri River is formed by three tributaries---the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers.
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education.boisestate.edu/compass/Kidscompass/rocky.htm
education.boisestate.edu/compass/Kidscompass/rocky.htm
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The Rocky Mountains formed by foreshortening of a west-facing miogeoclinal wedge of Proterozoic, Paleozoic and early Mesozoic strata that had accumulated on the western margin of North America. The Rocky Mountains are dominated by east-verging thrust faults and detached folds.
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www.litho.ucalgary.ca/atlas/sbc/rockies.html
www.litho.ucalgary.ca/atlas/sbc/rockies.html
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The San Juan Mountains of the southwestern Colorado Rocky Mountains ... The mountains we know now were formed largely by lava and ash from the volcanoes with the present valleys and canyons formed by erosion from glaciers, water and wind. Some fine examples of this process are Wheeler Geologic Area, Red Mountain and the...
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sangres.com/mountains/sanjuans.htm
sangres.com/mountains/sanjuans.htm
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