Rocky Mountains

American  

[rok-ee moun-tnz] / ˈrɒk i ˈmaʊn tnz /

plural noun

1. the chief mountain system in North America, extending from central New Mexico to northern Alaska. Highest peak, Denali, 20,300 feet (6,187 meters).

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Rocky Mountains British  

plural noun

1. the chief mountain system of W North America, extending from British Columbia to New Mexico: forms the Continental Divide. Highest peak: Mount Elbert, 4399 m (14 431 ft). Mount McKinley (6194 m (20 320 ft)), in the Alaska Range, is not strictly part of the Rocky Mountains

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Rocky Mountains Cultural  

1. Major mountain chain of western North America, running from Alaska to Mexico.

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Etymology

Origin of Rocky Mountains

First recorded in 1800–05; translation of Canadian French les Montagnes des Roches, from Cree asini˙waciya, plural of asini˙waciy, equivalent to asini˙-, combining form of asiniy “stone, rock” + waciy “mountain,” originally referring to the Canadian Rockies

Example Sentences

This year, the snowpack in the upper portion of the river’s watershed in the Rocky Mountains measures just 22% of average, the smallest on record.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2026

They found no gold but became the first Europeans to explore the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

They drive close to 1,000 miles through the Mojave Desert and over the Rocky Mountains to Denver.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

The tragedy has shaken the tight-knit town of about 2,400 people, which is set along a few winding rural roads in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026

From there, they could eventually reach the West Coast on a route that followed the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri Rivers, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and met the Columbia River road.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Related Words

• sierra