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Alpine plants below alpine
By Larry Halverson/Friends of Kootenay
I’m sure the young fellow in this photo, Ted Hogg, never thought that one day he would work as a naturalist in Kootenay National Park, let alone be studying the unusual plants found in Marble Canyon.
In early 1980s Ted documented 169 vascular plant species growing in Marble Canyon. The canyon is situated in the lower subalpine zone at 149 m above sea level and at least 800 m below tree-line, yet it contains an unusually rich assemblage of alpine plants. It is suggested that the abundance of alpine species at this low altitude is made possible by the cold microclimate produced by the glacially-fed stream flowing through this deep and narrow canyon. To read Ted’s article click “An arctic-alpine flora at low elevation in Marble Canyon” found in the Friends of Kootenay research database .
Ted Hogg now works as a Research Scientist for the Canadian Forest Service studying with NASA the effects of global warming on vegetation.
Above photo: Beaver toothed sign, 1963. – Photo from the Hogg family collection
