An island range is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

that exists in total or almost total isolation from a larger chain of ranges and sub-ranges. From a distance on the plains, these ranges appear as "islands" of higher ground. They are often described as islands of mountainous land because they exist in the "sea" of lower elevation and flatter

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

country; many examples are found in the northern

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

of the United States. Island ranges include the Big Snowy Mountains of east-central

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, the Crazy Mountains of south-central Montana, or the

Wichita Mountains The Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the principal relief system in the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen, being the result of a failed continental rift. The mountains are a northwest-south ...

of southwestern Oklahoma. Island ranges, due to their isolation, often have animal and/or plant species or subspecies found nowhere else.

References

Mountains {{geo-term-stub

See also

References