Another spot we've stopped a couple of times, still along Abraham Lake, this almost hidden turn-off is a little 'toe' of the mountain that has been cut off by the highway carving through. Although not a large area, there is a nice range of plants, some typical of higher elevations growing on the limestone bedrock, and plants common through the foothills and montane zones growing in sections of the site with deeper soil.
 |
| Androsace chamaejasme, occurring at a wide range of altitudes in some pretty dry and exposed locations |
 |
| Arctostaphylos uva-ursi; an extremely widespread species- occurring in the mixed-forest zone bordering the prairies, dryland habitat, and even up to alpine sites; several subspecies.. |
 |
| Dryas integrifolia; much less common than the common D drummondii, but still quite widespread; I think this is my favourite Dryas, on account of the tiny pretty leaves. |
 |
| Potentilla sp. there are a number of plants at this site, in flat gravelly soils as well as this crevice dweller; I haven't been there for full bloom on all of the plants. |
 |
| Eriogonum - id'd as E androsaceum (not by me) there are a number of plants at the site, though hard to see in summer colour- in fall they are an almost shocking pink; I've never been there for significant flowering.. |
 |
| Perhaps surprising at this rather dry site, but there are some extensive colonies of Viola adunca. |
Full album with more pics of these and others:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111492944361897930115/AlbertaRockyMountainsMay312011DAbrahamLake
Still at the same site, a separate album for a couple of Brassicaceae family plants I have not identified:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111492944361897930115/AlbertaRockyMountainsMay312011D3Cress
 |
| A tiny thing! (see next photo, different plant, same species) maybe Lesquerella sp? |
 |
| Still a smallish plant, but huge compared to the previous! Also unnamed by me... |
Finally for this site, views and mountain sheep! The sheep come down to these lower altitudes fall through spring, moving up, up and away when the snow goes and alpine plants grow! They spend quite a bit of time in this relatively dry winter montane zone- you can see droppings in many places, and certain plants, such as the small sedges, are clearly cropped low..
 |
| View away down the highway, you can see a simila slope coming down on the right. |
 |
| Sections of the site are bare rock like this or open gravel/scree; some are natural to the mountain, others probably scraped/dug during road construction. |
 |
| You can see here the variations between deeper soils, wind deposited and built up onsite by sedges etc and areas of bare rock, gravel. |
 |
| Looking out over Abraham Lake (man-made lake from a hydro-electric dam) |
 |
| Looking down from the higher part of the site, parking area in the middle, grassy area with sheep hanging out below, then rocks leading down to the lake. |
 |
| Grassy area with sheep hanging out in the lower part of the site. |
Comments
Post a Comment