Title: Alpine Tundra Ecosystem - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Headings: Alpine Tundra Ecosystem
Alpine Tundra Ecosystem
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It's the Year of the Tundra at Rocky Mountain National Park!
Year of the Tundra Frequently Asked Questions:
What is tundra, what makes it special, and how much alpine tundra does RMNP have?
What is it like on RMNP's tundra?
What plants and animals live on the tundra in RMNP?
How have humans used the tundra in the past?
What is the best way for visitors to explore and experience the tundra?
What are the main threats to RMNP’s tundra?
What kind of research is happening in the tundra at RMNP?
What is the park doing to help protect the tundra?
How can visitors help protect our tundra ecosystem?
Follow the links below to learn about life in the tundra.
Yellow-bellied marmots
Alpine Sunflowers
Pikas
White-tailed Ptarmigan
Alpine Forget-me-nots
Elk
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Content: Rocky Mountain National Park contains rare and exceptional glimpses into the earliest connections between people and the Rocky Mountain environment. The area encompassed by the park has been used by Native Americans continuously for over 10,000 years. The high elevation alpine tundra provides important and nutritious plant and animal species that remain critical to the survival and lifeway of affiliated Native Americans. Mountains, and high places in particular, have been important to Native Americans since time immemorial. The Ute Trail represents one of the earliest evidences of human travel over the mountains—the start of a continuum of human visitation that continues today. Routes across the Continental Divide at Forest Canyon Pass (Ute Trail, Fall River Road, Trail Ridge Road) and their associated structures (Lake Irene mess hall, for example) provide an exceptional example of transportation and engineering through the years across what would become our nation’s highest continuous paved highway. Tourism, starting in the early 1900s, brought a new wave of human interest and experiences of the tundra. Construction of Old Fall River Road between 1913 and 1920, provided tundra access to the new burgeoning tourism industry. Trail Ridge Road, completed in 1932, opened opportunities for tourists to explore the tundra and play in the persistent snow fields. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Beatrice Willard Alpine Tundra Research Plots represent one of the United States’ first efforts to incorporate science into long-term management.