Over 200 million years ago, the North American continent was subjected to a series of tectonic shifts that culminated in the formation of the Rocky Mountains. The initial stage witnessed the collision of two massive landmasses, the Farallon Plate and the North American Plate, resulting in the subduction of the former beneath the latter. This process created a deep trench along the western coast of North America, which eventually filled with sediments and volcanic material. Subsequent collisions between smaller tectonic plates further uplifted the region, eventually forming the towering peaks of the Rocky Mountains as we know them today.
