- Alpine Desert -

Zone 5: Alpine Desert
Altitude: roughly 4,023 to 5,029 meters
MUC Field Guide Classification - 3312 (Desert)


This is a harsh, dry, windy region, consisting mostly of bare rock and ice. The temperature of the area ranges from below freezing at night to over 38°C during the day. The air is very thin, and radiation from the sun is intense. It rains less than 25 centimeters per year, and the zone's thin soils retain little of what does materialize so there are very few plants, mostly lichens and small mosses.

 

( Alpine Desert near Lava Tower )

 

( Poters heading up the trail through the Desert )

 

( Lava Tower in the Alpine Desert Zone )

 

( The terminal Moraine of the Arrow Glacier )

( If you look close you can see the 2008 Xpedition Team on the left )

 

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