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Paradise Valley

Ecoregion in Rocky Mountains, MT

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The Paradise Valley is an intermontane valley containing grasslands and meadows. It is mostly composed of Quaternary alluvium and Tertiary sedimentary rock; glacial drift deposits and Tertiary volcanics also occur. Potential natural vegetation is foothills prairie and is characterized by the predominance of fescues and wheatgrasses. Today, the Paradise Valley (17u) is used for rangeland, cropland, recreation, rural residential developments, and commercial activities. The partially glaciated Big Belt Forested Highlands ecoregion lies to the east of the Continental Divide. The highest areas are composed of igneous intrusive rocks but, generally, Ecoregion 17v is underlain by Precambrian limestone and is lithologically distinct from the nearby Scattered Eastern Igneous-Core Mountains (17r), Elkhorn Mountains-Boulder Batholith (17ai), Eastern Divide Mountains (17aj), Mid-Elevation Sedimentary Mountains (17g), and Big Snowy-Little Belt Carbonate Mountains (17q). Climax vegetation is mapped as subalpine fir, Douglas-fir, and ponderosa pine forests and differs from that of Ecoregions 17g, 17w, 43t, and 43u. Grazing, logging, mining, and recreation are the most common land uses.

— EPA

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