The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometers (3,000 miles) from northernmost British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States. The highest peak is Mount Elbert, in Colorado, which is 14,440 feet (4,401 meters) above sea level. Mount Robson in British Columbia, at 3,954 meters (12,972 feet) is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The Rocky Mountain System within the United States is a United States physiographic region. Though part of the Pacific Cordillera, they are not to be confused with the Pacific Coast Ranges which are located immediately adjacent to the Pacific coast.
In the United States, the more impressive rise above the Great Plains include the Front Range from northern Colorado to northern New Mexico, in Wyoming along the Wind River Range and Big Horn Mountains, and in Montana with the Crazy Mountains and along the Rocky Mountain Front which extends into extreme southwestern Alberta, Canada (known there as the Clark Range). The Wasatch Range near Salt Lake City, Utah divides the Great Basin from the mountains in the west.