Plants in the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is the perfect lab for biologists or anyone who wishes to observe how plants (and animals, for that matter) are distributed over varying degrees of altitude. In fact, the notion that climing up or down in elevation will take you through diverse vegetation zones began right here in the Grand Canyon. Clinton Hart Merriam was the first to scientifically observe and study this phenomenon, the late 1800s. He observed, going up and down into and out of the Grand Canyon, that changes in altitude were similar to changes in latitude, in terms of the change in climate and vegetation zone. Indeed, it's true: if you hike from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon down to the Colorado River at the bottom of the Canyon, you'll feel and see the difference all around you. It gets noticably much hotter, and instead of trees you will see cactus as you go down into the canyon. From the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, to the top of nearby San Francisco Mountains, just eighty miles away, the altitude changes more then 10,000 feet. You can go from extreme desert conditions at the bottom of the Grand Canyon to northern Canada-like conditions atop many of the nearby mountains, which are over 12,000 feet. With this in mind, think about the variation in vegetation any visitor can see on a trip to the Grand Canyon, and you get a dizzying variety and a high volume of diverse plant life. From ponderosa pine to aspen, juniper, spruce and fir as you go up the mountains, to cacti, blackbrush scrub, yucca and agave as you go down into the Grand Canyon, the diversity of vegetation in this area is fantastic and fascinating to scientists and visitors alike. Below, find out about the progression of life zones at the Grand Canyon, beginning at the highest points on the North Rim.
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Vegetation Zones at the Grand Canyon
- Boreal Zone: 9,000 to 8,000 feet. Find aspen, fir and spruce trees. Deep snow in winter months. Like a Canadian forest.
- Transition Zone: is between 8.000 and 7.000 feet. Mostly ponderosa pine, with western yellow pine. Open forests and tons of pine needles on the ground, very pleasant! Some Gambel oak and mountain-mahogany.
- Upper Sonoran Zone: is from 7,500 to 4,000 feet. Find pinyon-juniper woodland, mountain scrub, Bambel oak, shrub live oak, sagebrush and blackbrush desertscrub.
- Lower Sonoral Zone: from 4,000 down to 1,200 feet, the lowest point in the Grand Canyon. HOt hot hot, over 100 degrees F in summertime. Less than a foot of rainfall per year. There are catclaw acacia, creosotebush, Barrel cactus, ocotillo cactus, mesquite, and Joshuatree.
Plants on the Grand Canyon's South Rim |
- Pinyon-juniper woodland covers most of the area around Grand Canyon Village at the South Rim. The combination of this, with the also-present ponderosa pine makes a very pleasant atmostphere. Go to Valle to see lots and lots of just pinyon-juniper.
- Ponderosa pine is also found all over the area around Grand Canyon Village, or any of the developed areas on the South Rim. Go to Grandview Point, the highest point on the South Rim, to see pure stands of ponderosa pine.
- Douglas fir can be found just below the rim level of the south rim, at Grand Canyon Village. They like cooler conditions, and because this spot is facing north and very protected, they grew here.
- Cottonwood Trees can be found all along the stream at Indian Garden, down a ways into the Canyon.
- Blackbrush desert scrub is seen on the Tonto Platform, which is on the trail to Plateau Point.
- Joshuatree forest can be found on the road to Pearce Ferry, which is outside Grand Canyon National Park, but close by nevertheless. The road is over perfect examples of Mohave Desert conditions.
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Plants on the Grand Canyon's North Rim |
- Mixed forest of fir and ponderosa pine will be encountered if you hike down the North Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon from the North Rim.
- Mountain scrub & chaparral is located on the North Kaibab Trail further down from the stands of fir and pine, as conditions get warmer and altitude gets lower.
- Spruce & fir dominate the areas around the Cape Royal Road, around 9,000 feet.
- Pinyon-juniper woodland can be found once you reach Cape Royal, which is warmed by warm air rising up from the canyon, not by any change in elevation.
- Old Growth Forests are precious, and can be found on the unpaved roads leading to various viewpoints around the north rim. These include Point Sublime, Swamp Point and Tiyo Point.
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