Vegetation grows under the endless arctic daylight on the tussock filled tundra of Alaskas arctic. Sag river and Brooks range mountains in the distance. Canon 5D Mark III, 24-105mm f/4L IS, 1/4 sec @ f/20, ISO 100, 2:04 AM, June 16
Some of the first hints of color on the tundra are the wooly lousewort flowers. They are early bloomers, and the bright pink color really pops out along the brown tundra. For anyone who has hiked across this kind of terrain, you know what I’m talking about when I say it is difficult travel. It’s a wonder to me how the caribou can move so quickly among these tussocks, but they seem to run through them without much difficulty. The Sagavanirktok river in the distance, flows north out of the Brooks range. At after 2:00 AM in the morning, the sun has already reached it’s lowest point and is beginning to climb higher.
I have tried to show tussocks for years, but this really does a great job of putting them in context.
Thanks Marvin, the angle of light is really needed to give those tussocks definition.
Lovely lighting! It looks like most of those tussocks are a foot and a half tall or so. I can see how trying to walk in a straight line can be difficult. In the middle ground, there are a number of buds – will those eventually be lousewort flowers?
Thanks Vivian, the other buds are different flora.