A landscape of mountains

As promised, some Alaska scenery. Bear in mind that all these mountain pictures are within a 100 mile radius of Anchorage. Which means that I haven't yet seen The Big One!

When you're practically at sea level at the foot of a 6000-ft. mountain, it looms. And when you're in Alaska at 6000-ft. elevation (about half way between Prescott & Flagstaff, by the way) you're not only above timberline, but also high enough that mosses and lichens find it hard to stay alive.

A little bit of snow is showing and, if you look carefully through that pass (above), you might see a glacier. Often there's cloud cover (below).

Many of the mountains I have seen the past week are topped by Serious Teeth.

East of Anchorage on the Turnagain Arm, the mountains rise directly out of the sea.

Many of the lower mountains are so green that it almost hurts! Very wet country it is.

Others, such as these up in gold mining country in the Talkeetnas, display the skeletal rock.

Here is a view of alpine meadows reaching above tree line. The wealth of plants in these meadows is amazing.

But the greenery here is tundra -- thick, low growing mats of mosses, lichens with a few flowering plants. Between 3500 and 4000 ft. elevation, BTW.

Views from another trip in another direction, starting with the Matanuska Glacier, looking uphill.

Another valley glacier coming down from ice-covered hills (above).

More ice, visible above thanks to a good zoom lens. I wasn't anywhere near it.


This U-shaped valley above was made by a glacier long, long ago. Note the long ledge visible on the side of the mountain below -- it marks the height of the Ice Age glacier which passed through, carving the valley.