Alaska-St. Elias Range tundra
Encyclopedia
The Alaska-St. Elias Range tundra is an ecoregion
of northwestern North America
.
running north from the bottom of the Alaska Peninsula
, eastwards taking in the Alaska Range
and southwards to include the Wrangell
and St. Elias Mountains in eastern Alaska on the Canadian
border as far as Yakutat Bay
. Across in Canada the ecoregion includes the southwestern corner of the Yukon Territory and the northwestern corner of British Columbia
. These mountains are largely covered with permanent ice and snow, with permanent snow about 2150m, and are separated by valleys filled with ice fields and great glaciers. There are small patches that are not under ice and consist of rock, rubble and alpine tundra. Elevations of the ecoregion range from sea level (on the western coast) to 600m in the valleys, to peaks over 4,000m. Indeed Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest peak in North America at 6,100m, is located here, while the St Elias Mountains reach as high as 6000m and are some of the highest peaks in Canada. This ecoregion is largely separated from the coast by the Pacific Coastal Mountain Icefields and Tundra so the climate is continental. Rainfall varies from 200mm per year on the higher slopes to 400mm per year in the lower areas.
is everywhere on the higher slopes but there are patches of alpine tundra
plant life at lower elevations, including mountain avens (Dryas octopetala
) and erica
s such as Vaccinium vitis-idaea
and Cassiope tetragona
.
s of Denali National Park
and the southwestern coast near Iliamna Lake
and Kamishak Bay
. Other mammals include mountain goat
, caribou, moose
, Dall sheep
, North American beaver and snowshoe hare
. The rivers of the area are home to salmon
. Birds include willow grouse
, Siberian Tit
, wheatear
, Wilson's warbler
and boreal chickadee
.
near Denali Park, and some mining activity including the abandoned copper mining camp of Kennecott, Alaska in the Wrangell Mountains
and coal mining at Nabesna
and Healy, Alaska
. Protected areas include Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
, Denali National Park, the adjacent Denali State Park
, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge
and the Wrangell-St. Elias Park and Preserve, all in Alaska, and parts of Tatshenshini–Alsek Provincial Park and Kluane National Park and Reserve
in Canada.
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
of northwestern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Setting
This ecoregion consists of a long range of high rocky mountains of the Alaska InteriorAlaska Interior
The Alaska Interior covers most of the U.S. state's territory. It is largely wilderness. Mountains include Mount McKinley in the Alaska Range, the Wrangell Mountains, and the Ray Mountains....
running north from the bottom of the Alaska Peninsula
Alaska Peninsula
The Alaska Peninsula is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The peninsula separates the Pacific Ocean from Bristol Bay, an arm of the Bering Sea....
, eastwards taking in the Alaska Range
Alaska Range
The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
and southwards to include the Wrangell
Wrangell Mountains
The Wrangell Mountains are a high mountain range of eastern Alaska in the United States. Much of the range is included in Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve. The Wrangell Mountains are almost entirely volcanic in origin, and they include the second and third highest volcanoes in the...
and St. Elias Mountains in eastern Alaska on the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
border as far as Yakutat Bay
Yakutat Bay
Yakutat Bay is a 29-km-wide bay in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending southwest from Disenchantment Bay to the Gulf of Alaska. "Yakutat" is a Tlingit name reported as "Jacootat" and "Yacootat" by Yuri Lisianski in 1805....
. Across in Canada the ecoregion includes the southwestern corner of the Yukon Territory and the northwestern corner of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. These mountains are largely covered with permanent ice and snow, with permanent snow about 2150m, and are separated by valleys filled with ice fields and great glaciers. There are small patches that are not under ice and consist of rock, rubble and alpine tundra. Elevations of the ecoregion range from sea level (on the western coast) to 600m in the valleys, to peaks over 4,000m. Indeed Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest peak in North America at 6,100m, is located here, while the St Elias Mountains reach as high as 6000m and are some of the highest peaks in Canada. This ecoregion is largely separated from the coast by the Pacific Coastal Mountain Icefields and Tundra so the climate is continental. Rainfall varies from 200mm per year on the higher slopes to 400mm per year in the lower areas.
Flora
PermafrostPermafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
is everywhere on the higher slopes but there are patches of alpine tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
plant life at lower elevations, including mountain avens (Dryas octopetala
Dryas octopetala
Dryas octopetala is an arctic-alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies, and is a popular flower in rock gardens...
) and erica
Erica
Erica ,the heaths or heathers, is a genus of approximately 860 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names "heath" and "heather" are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance....
s such as Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible sour fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America. In the past it was seldom cultivated, but fruit was commonly collected in the wild. ...
and Cassiope tetragona
Cassiope tetragona
Cassiope tetragona is a plant native to the high Arctic and northern Norway, where it is found widely....
.
Fauna
Animals of the area include large brown bearBrown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
s of Denali National Park
Denali National Park and Preserve
Denali National Park and Preserve is located in Interior Alaska and contains Denali , the highest mountain in North America. The park and preserve together cover 9,492 mi² .The longest glacier is the Kalhiltna glacier....
and the southwestern coast near Iliamna Lake
Iliamna Lake
Iliamna Lake or Lake Iliamna is a lake in South-West Alaska, at North end of Alaska Peninsula, between Kvichak Bay and Cook Inlet, West of Seldovia, Alaska Bristol Bay Low....
and Kamishak Bay
Kamishak Bay
Kamishak Bay is a bay on the coast of Alaska in the United States.The proposed United States Navy seaplane tender USS Kamishak was named for Kamishak Bay, but the contract for the ship's construction was cancelled in 1943 before construction began.-References:...
. Other mammals include mountain goat
Mountain goat
The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...
, caribou, moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
, Dall sheep
Dall Sheep
The Dall sheep , Ovis dalli, is a species of sheep native to northwestern North America, ranging from white to slate brown in color and having curved yellowish brown horns...
, North American beaver and snowshoe hare
Snowshoe Hare
The Snowshoe Hare , also called the Varying Hare, or Snowshoe Rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet and the marks its tail leaves. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks...
. The rivers of the area are home to salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
. Birds include willow grouse
Willow Grouse
The Willow Ptarmigan , also known as the Willow Grouse, is a bird of the grouse subfamily. It is a sedentary species, breeding in birch and other forests and moorlands in the tundra of Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, northern Canada, in particular the province of Newfoundland and Labrador...
, Siberian Tit
Siberian Tit
The Siberian Tit or Gray-headed Chickadee is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread resident breeder throughout subarctic Scandinavia and northern Asia, and also into North America in Alaska and the far northwest of Canada. It is a conifer specialist...
, wheatear
Wheatear
The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus Oenanthe. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae...
, Wilson's warbler
Wilson's Warbler
The Wilson's Warbler, Wilsonia pusilla, is a small New World warbler. It is primarily greenish above and yellow below, with rounded wings and a long, slim tail. The male has a black crown patch which is greatly reduced or missing entirely in the female...
and boreal chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
The Boreal Chickadee is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae.-Description:...
.
Threats and preservation
This is a largely unspoilt environment home to large predators, although there is some development associated with tourism, especially at KantishnaKantishna, Alaska
Kantishna is an unincorporated community in Denali Borough, Alaska, United States, within Denali National Park and Preserve. Founded as a gold mining camp in 1905, it endured longer than similar communities in the area, having been constructed nearest to the source of the gold...
near Denali Park, and some mining activity including the abandoned copper mining camp of Kennecott, Alaska in the Wrangell Mountains
Wrangell Mountains
The Wrangell Mountains are a high mountain range of eastern Alaska in the United States. Much of the range is included in Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve. The Wrangell Mountains are almost entirely volcanic in origin, and they include the second and third highest volcanoes in the...
and coal mining at Nabesna
Nabesna, Alaska
Nabesna is an unincorporated community in northern Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska, United States, in the northern part of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. It lies along a gravel road that connects it to the Tok Cut-Off at Slana. Its elevation is 2,979 feet...
and Healy, Alaska
Healy, Alaska
Healy is a census-designated place in and the borough seat of Denali Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 971 at the 2007 census.-Geography:Healy is located at ....
. Protected areas include Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in southwestern Alaska. The park includes many streams and lakes vital to the Bristol Bay salmon fishery...
, Denali National Park, the adjacent Denali State Park
Denali State Park
Denali State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located adjacent in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to the east side of Denali National Park and Preserve, along the Parks Highway....
, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge
Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge
Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge is a dynamic landscape made up of forests, wetlands, tundra, lakes, mountains and glacial rivers bounded by the snowy peaks of the Alaska Range. This upper Tanana River valley has been called the "Tetlin Passage," because it serves as a major migratory route for...
and the Wrangell-St. Elias Park and Preserve, all in Alaska, and parts of Tatshenshini–Alsek Provincial Park and Kluane National Park and Reserve
Kluane National Park and Reserve
Kluane National Park and Reserve are two units of Canada's national park system, located in the extreme southwestern corner of Yukon Territory. Kluane National Park Reserve was established in 1972, covering 22,016 square kilometres....
in Canada.