The Western National Parks
  • Home
  • Grand Canyon
    • Favorite places
    • Colorado Plateau
    • John Wesley Powell
    • Natives
    • Ecosystem
    • Clarence Dutton
    • Fred Harvey Company
  • Monument Valley
    • Navajo History
  • Zion
    • History
  • Bryce Canyon
    • Bryce Geology
    • History of Bryce
    • Southern Paiute
  • Capitol Reef
    • Fruita
  • Arches
    • Arches History
    • Animals
  • Canyonlands
    • The Animals
    • The People
    • The Vegetation
    • Canyonlands geology
  • Lake Tahoe
    • History
    • Sierra Nevada
  • Yosemite
    • History
    • Geology
    • Climate
    • Buffalo Soldiers
  • Kings Canyon
    • History
    • Geography
    • Geology
    • Sequoias and Redwoods
  • Death Valley
    • Diversity
    • The Lost 49ers
    • Burros
    • The Legend
  • Civilian Conservation Corps
    • Zion CCC
  • Salt Lake Valley

Hoodoos

About Bryce

7/29/2018

0 Comments

 
Climate
This area encompasses 3 life Zones: Upper Sonoran from 6,000-7,000’ with piñon and juniper; transition zone from 7,000-8,500’ mostly pine; Canadian Zone from 8,500-9,000+’ with fir, aspen and bristlecone pine.
The high elevation and more abundant water, these zones produce a variety of vegetation.

On the north-facing slopes in narrow gullies, the climate differs from the south-facing slopes, resulting in different vegetation. South: juniper and piñon. North: Douglas fir, limber pine and ponderosa pine. One gnarly bristlecone pine near Rainbow Point is more than 2000 years old!

Gullies form more easily on the south side where more frequent winter freeze-thaw cycles loosen the crust and will wash away with snowmelt and summer runoff.

Environment
Bryce has some of America’s cleanest air! You can see about 200 miles (160k) and three states on an average day. So, take the view and take in the smells — smell the junipers? The colors change with the light of day, the moisture in the air, cloudiness, snow, etc. (Over the past 25 years, the visibility in Bryce Canyon is improving on the clearest days, but not improving on the haziest days.)

Animals
164 kinds of birds
53 kinds of mammals
11 species of reptiles
4 types of amphibians 

Vegetation
Surrounded by deserts, Bryce's highland plateau gets much more rain than the lowlands below and stays cooler during hot summers. The relatively lush ecosystems that result are like fertile islands towering above a vast arid landscape. Forests dominate the upper altitudes of the Paunsaugunt Plateau containing white fir-spruce-aspen forest. Bristlecone pine lives in the high limestone knolls. Ponderosa pine and manzanita dominate the middle altitudes. Pinyon pine-juniper forest dominates the lower elevation areas of the park. Gambel oak, cactus and yucca punctuate the lower elevation juniper forest.

A special area of notice are the "breaks" of the amphitheater, better known as the pink cliffs, they are exposed, nearly unforested areas. Meadows, seeps and springs are home to a different, grassy and deciduous plant community. Many of the meadows in the park are high and dry, home to sagebrush, rabbitbrush and grasses.

Trees:
Great Basin Bristlecone Pine
Ponderosa Pine
Limber Pine
Colorado Pinyon
Rocky Mountain Juniper
Greenleaf Manzanita
Blue Spruce
Douglas Fir
Quaking Aspen


Wildflowers:
Markagunt Penstemon
Blue Flax
Mountain Death-Camas
Red Canyon Penstemon
Western Iris
Showy Stoneseed
Bryce Canyon Paintbrush
Western Wallflower
Many-Flowered Stoneseed
Wyoming Paintbrush
Rock Columbine Flower
Bush Cinquefoil
Rabbitbrush
0 Comments

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Grand Canyon
    • Favorite places
    • Colorado Plateau
    • John Wesley Powell
    • Natives
    • Ecosystem
    • Clarence Dutton
    • Fred Harvey Company
  • Monument Valley
    • Navajo History
  • Zion
    • History
  • Bryce Canyon
    • Bryce Geology
    • History of Bryce
    • Southern Paiute
  • Capitol Reef
    • Fruita
  • Arches
    • Arches History
    • Animals
  • Canyonlands
    • The Animals
    • The People
    • The Vegetation
    • Canyonlands geology
  • Lake Tahoe
    • History
    • Sierra Nevada
  • Yosemite
    • History
    • Geology
    • Climate
    • Buffalo Soldiers
  • Kings Canyon
    • History
    • Geography
    • Geology
    • Sequoias and Redwoods
  • Death Valley
    • Diversity
    • The Lost 49ers
    • Burros
    • The Legend
  • Civilian Conservation Corps
    • Zion CCC
  • Salt Lake Valley