Click the photo above to watch a short feature, filmed this month!
The word tundra came from the Sami people of Scandinavia and Russia and translated to “land of no trees.” The Alpine Tundra in the Colorado mountains is the most significant example of this habitat in the con guous US. Tundra at RMNP starts at 11,000 – 11,500 feet in eleva on and is considered a transi on zone, or ecotone, found where the forested subalpine zone shi s to the treeless tundra. This area is o en referred to as the tree line. One of the most striking aspects of Alpine Tundra is just how savage Mother Nature can be at these eleva ons.
Yellow-bellied marmot
“The Alpine Tundra in the Colorado mountains is the most signicant example of this habitat in the contiguous US”
Elk grazing on the tundra in July of this year.
