Mixed Northern to Boreal Forest to the Krummholz to Alpine Zone in Franconia Notch State Park, NH

Type: Interesting

Description:
Follow me as I hike the Falling Waters Trail to Little Haystack Mountain, traverse on the Appalachian Trail/Franconia Ridge Trail north to Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette (5260 ft) and return on the Greenleaf Trail. (Franconia Notch State Park, White Mountains, New Hampshire. This loop was named by National Geographic Magazine as one of the top 20 hikes in the world! As I ascend, in addition to scenery, I describe the forest types that change as one increases in elevation and some of the most dominant tree species that reflect these changes. Franconia Ridge cradles 7.7 square miles of the 13 square miles of Alpine tundra of the North East Coast. The climate features included cloud cover over 60 percent of the year and one of the windiest places on the planet earth. One of the highest wind speeds ever recorded on the planet was at the nearby Mount Washington Observatory at 231 mph. Hurricane force winds can occur in storms at almost anytime of the year in the Alpine Zone on the ridge. Unique plant and animal species have adapted in this environment characterized by thin, acidic soil, leached of nutrients by frequent rain, cool temperatures, short growing season, and winds that can literal rip a plant from the ground by its roots.

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Video length: 13:00