The Black Hills, Bear Lodge Mountains, and Devils Tower - Mountains and Plains: The Ecology of Wyoming Landscapes - page 271

Fig. 16.4. (above) the granitic central Area of the Black Hills
has widespread forests of ponderosa pine, with groves of
aspen and white spruce along ravines and in other relatively
moist habitats. the red ponderosa pine on the left was in-
vaded by mountain pine beetles the previous summer. this
photo was taken in 2010. Many more trees have been killed
by the bark beetles since that time. elevation 5,000-6,000
feet. Photo by carl christensen.
Fig. 16.5. (left) Ponderosa pine forests are common in the
Black Hills, the Bear Lodge Mountains, the Laramie Moun-
tains, and on east slopes of the Bighorn Mountains. common
juniper is a conspicuous shrub at higher elevations. this
photo was taken in the Black Hills. elevation 6,400 feet.
Mountains, and can be classified into at least seven
habitat types. 14 Rocky Mountain juniper occurs with
ponderosa pine on drier locations, such as on the Hog-
back Rim; and two shrubs—snowberry and bearberry—
are widespread associates in the central Area and on
the Limestone Plateau. Similar forests occur on escarp-
ments in the chadron national Forest in northwestern
nebraska and in custer national Forest in southeastern
Montana. Where annual precipitation is higher, such as
in the northern Hills, ponderosa pine and bur oak form
a distinctive conifer-hardwood association (fig. 16.6).