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A biome is a major regional or global biotic community, such as a grassland or desert, defined by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate. The boreal forest biome is the largest terrestrial ecosystem in the world, characterized by conifer forests and a harsh continental climate with a very large temperature range between summer and winter. The global boreal forests are larger than even the Amazon rainforest.
"Like the Amazon, the boreal forest is of critical importance to all living things. Its trees and peatlands comprise one of the world's largest 'carbon reservoirs.'... Its wetlands filter millions of gallons of water each day. And as a vast and intact forest ecosystem, it still supports a natural food web, complete with large carnivores like bears, wolves and lynx along with thousands of other species of plants, mammals, birds and insects. The boreal forest is also home to hundreds of First Nations communities, many of which rely on fishing, hunting and trapping for their livelihoods. Despite its global significance, Canada's boreal forest is in great danger today." NRDC
Elevation mapping tools are improving, but I am still not entirely sure of their accuracy. The image above was prepared using MapMyRide, and a map created by Gmaps-Pedometer is similar but slightly different. For example, the latter does not show the "valley" at mile 163 (around Hyannis) shown on the former. (You can click on the image above to see an enlarged version.) Nevertheless, what is quite clear from both maps is the relentless but gradual climb from Hazard to Alliance, almost 2000 feet over 230 miles. At an elevation of 3967 ft Alliance, NE is nearly the highest point on this trip so far, though there will be some higher mountain passes further north.
The high elevation but lack of mountains is a perfect setup for the high winds that Dee and Cal have been fighting. The High Plains has the highest potential for providing wind generated electricity of any part of the country except for off-shore areas. Combine this with the semi-arid climate, and you get wide extremes in temperature as well.
The fascinating thing about the Nebraska National Forest is that it is entirely man-made. Established in 1902 by Charles E. Bessey, this was an experiment to see if forests could be created in treeless areas of the Great Plains for use as a national timber reserve. The effort resulted in a 20,000-acre forest, the largest human-planted forest in the United States. Today, the forest's nursery supplies 2.5 to 3 million seedlings per year.
From Hazard, Dee and Cal have started northwest on NE-2, the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway, stopping tonight in Broken Bow. By the time they reach Alliance, our trikers will have climbed nearly 2000 ft in about 230 miles.
Incidentally, I have added yet another gadget at right. In the Gmaps-Pedometer you can click on the "elevation: large" link on the left-hand side to calculate a graph of elevation change over the distance.
A biome is a major regional or global biotic community, such as a grassland or desert, defined by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate. The boreal forest biome is the largest terrestrial ecosystem in the world, characterized by conifer forests and a harsh continental climate with a very large temperature range between summer and winter. The global boreal forests are larger than even the Amazon rainforest.
