Birch Creek Wild and Scenic River, Steese National Conservation Area, Alaska
Taken on Aug. 26, 2011
This photo of birch creek in Steese National Conservation Area, Alaska, shows some of the pecularities of the Klondike Plateau, a region that mostly escaped glaciation, unusual for a mountainous region so far north. The valley here has V-shaped walls, steeper at the bottom and not appreciably steeper higher up, reflecting of the sort of terrain cut by water, contrasting with the broad-bottomed, U-shaped valleys formed by glaciers. Note also the patchy forest cover, reflecting discontinuous permafrost that allows forests to grow on some sites whereas others open up to tundra-like vegetation.
