Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
With more than one million acres, Glacier National Park offers a staggering number of mi-
croclimates, including forests, alpine meadows, lakes, rocky peaks, and glacial valleys, that
are home to an incredible diversity of plant and animal life.
With two climate zones (Pacific maritime and prairie/arctic), three major watersheds
(Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic), and a range of biomes at various elevations, Glacier is home
to a broad selection of plant life. There are 20 different tree species and at least 1,132 spe-
cies of vascular plants, including 127 nonnative species. There are nearly 900 species of
moss and lichen, almost 1,000 species of wildflowers, and more than 100 species of plants
that are listed by the state as “sensitive.” Amazingly, some of the tiny, seemingly delicate
alpine plants that are beaten and battered by the harsh climate year after year can live to be
more than 100 years old.
Visitors from the northern part of North America will find familiar flora in Glacier.
Divided into four floristic provinces, Glacier's plant species are 49 percent cordilleran
(which includes the southern and central Rockies as well as the Cascade Mountains in
Washington), 39 percent boreal (which includes much of Canada), 10 percent arctic-alpine,
and 1 percent Great Plains. The continent's easternmost hemlock forest thrives in the moist
environment around Lake McDonald on the park's west side, offering a stark contrast to the
wind-sculpted open forests and grasslands of the east side. There are also significant shifts
in plant life from the north to the south as a result of changes in annual precipitation.
