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Photos by Bob Zemanak
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Photos by Dave Wagenheim
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Photos by Ryan LeBlanc
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For Your Information
As you travel
the Dalton Highway you will cross four major natural zones. Each
is influenced by different geologic and weather patterns
and is home to it's own family of plants and animals.
THE
BOREAL FOREST (Fairbanks to Coldfoot)
A cold dry climate and permanently frozen soils dictate what can
grow here. Those tiny, ragged spruce trees may be more than 100
years old. Lightening caused wildfires benefit wildlife by
recycling nutrients into the soil and creating new sources of
food and shelter within the old forest. Scan the edge of the
forest for moose, fox, wolves and bears.
THE
ARTIC MOUNTAINS (The Brooks Range)
The foothills of the Brooks Range begin at Coldfoot and ascend
to the crest of the Continental Divide at Atigun Pass. Golden
eagles soar above this mountainous expanse in search of arctic
hare, lemmings or ground squirrels. Examine specks of white on
mountainsides - they may be Dall Sheep basking in the sun on the
rocky slopes.
THE
NORTH SLOPE (Transition to the Plains)
As you descend from Atigun Pass, the Arctic opens before you and stretches
to an indefinable horizon. You are beyond the tree line, where
plants grow close to the ground to survive the brutal arctic
winds. Here the caribou, muskoxen and wolverine wander, and it
is possible to see a snowy owl or gyrfalcon streak across the
tundra in search of prey.
THE
ARCTIC COASTAL PLAIN (North to the Ocean)
Ice shapes the subtle features of this extreme northern
landscape, pushing up pingos and frost boils that become perches
for snowy owls seeking prey. Intense cold cracks the surface,
creating polygon-shaped ponds where waterfowl and shorebirds
feast on a banquet of bugs (mostly mosquitoes!) each summer.
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