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Arctic Foothills

↑About the Arctic Foothills

The Arctic Foothills are a mostly east-west-oriented region in northern Alaska and extending slightly into northernmost Yukon and right to near the border with the Northwest Territories. Although it does not border the coast directly along most of its length, it has a short coastline in the east and also in the west, where it wraps around the western end of the Brooks Range and extends slightly to the south. The areas where this region extends fully to the coast coincide with region where the coastline is more rugged. These hills can be seen as a transitional area between the Arctic Coastal Plain and the higher-elevation Brooks Range.

The climate is mostly a dry, polar (tundra) climate, with cool to cold summers, and long, severe winters. However, there is a small area in the middle of this region where the climate is markedly warmer, tending towards dry-summer subarctic and cold semi-arid climates. Summer arrives late, with average temperatures typically not exceeding freezing until mid-June. The coastline is entirely frozen over for much of the year, but thawed when Arctic sea ice reaches its minimum in late summer. Historically, part of the coastline remained frozen in some summers, but from the 70's onward the sea ice has been declining due to global warming, more in summer, and the rate has dramatically accelerated more recently. As sea ice declines, the portion of the year where the coastline remains ice-free will increase, leading this region to have a more moderate climate for a longer portion of the year, and also leading precipitation to increase. Even with the loss of sea ice, the ice extends far past this region in winter and the coastline here is still frozen for much of the year. The decline of snow cover in this region also causes a feedback loop that further warms this region once it becomes warm enough that snow cover melts.

The terrain consists mostly of rolling hills and plateaus that slope gradually towards the sea. The terrain is gently dissected by water, and the rivers and larger streams form a braided pattern with constantly-changing islands, channels, and bars. There are also bottomlands with extensive wetlands, small lakes, and ponds, but there are not quite as many wetlands and ponds as in the coastal plain to the north. There is a conspicuous lack of alluvial fans where the streams and rivers flow out of the mountains to the south and into this region, because the streams flow through massive U-shaped valleys carved by glaciers with far more than enough room to carry the small volume of water taken by them. The glaciers however are long since melted.

This region is almost entirely treeless, but there is fairly dense cover of low, shrubby growth, including dwarf forms of birch, willow, alder, Labrador tea, and Dryas sp. on warm, well-drained sites. More open growth of Dryas sp. without woody plants grows on ridges, and wet and poorly-drained sites feature arctic willow, sphagnum moss, and various tussock-forming sedges.

This region is sparsely populated and mostly seasonal; the permanent population is overwhelmingly Native American. Most of the land use here is limited to subsistence hunting, trapping, and fishing, and there is some recreation associated with visiting national parks. There is a significant portion of public land here; the eastern portion of this region in Alaska is located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The lower elevations of Noatak National Preserve are also located here. The largest settlement is Point Hope. Another coastal settlement, Kivalina, has been threatened by erosion and sea level rise and may not survive more than a few more years; Noatak is also the name of a small inland settlement here.

Most of this region is bordered to the north by the Arctic Coastal Plain, which is lower, flatter, poorly-drained, and dotted with a high density of wetlands and ponds. To the south, this region is bordered by the higher-elevation, more rugged Brooks Range Tundra, except at the far western end of the region. The southwesternmost portion of this region is bordered along the coast to the south by the Subarctic Coastal Plains, another lower, flatter, poorly-drained region but significantly warmer. There is also a very small area where this region is bordered to the east by the Interior Forested Lowlands and Uplands, a diverse and warmer region that has richer vegetation cover.