You have just walked through a subalpine meadow on a gentle south-facing slope. Now look at the steep north-facing slope ahead. It was formed as a glacier funneled lava flows along its ridge, building up higher over time. Snow on south-facing slopes tends to melt as temperatures are warmer and they are in more direct sunlight. This north-facing slope is cooler and has more moisture because it receives less direct sunlight. Even late into summer, large patches of snow may remain. Keep an eye out for animals that live on cool north-facing slopes, such as mountain goats, on the ridges and valleys to the north. Would you expect to find the same kinds of plants on both slopes? Why or why not?
Is there something we missed for this itinerary?
Itineraries across USA
Acadia
Arches National Park
Badlands
Big Bend
Biscayne
Black Canyon Of The Gunnison
Bryce Canyon
Canyonlands
Capitol Reef
Carlsbad Caverns
Channel Islands
Congaree
Crater Lake
Cuyahoga Valley
Death Valley
Dry Tortugas
Everglades
Gateway Arch
Glacier
Grand Canyon
Grand Teton
Great Basin
Great Smoky Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
Haleakalā
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes
Hot Springs
Indiana Dunes
Isle Royale
Joshua Tree
Kenai Fjords
Kobuk Valley
Lassen Volcanic
Mammoth Cave
Mesa Verde
Mount Rainier
North Cascades
Olympic
Petrified Forest
Pinnacles
Rocky Mountain
Saguaro
Shenandoah
Theodore Roosevelt
Virgin Islands
Voyageurs
White Sands
Wind Cave
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Zion