Sunday, November 14, 2010

Driving the Dempster Hwy

As we drive up the Dempster following the North Klondike River the peaks of the Ogilvie Mountains can be seen in the distance [km 10.5]. Antimony Mountain, 2,040 Meters high, can be seen and it is 30 K away.
At km 20.0 the North Klondike Range comes into view west of the hwy. They lead to the rugged Tombstone Range whose mts were glaciated. The morains, also called glacial drift, were transported out of the mts by ice and runoff.
At km 38.7 high up in the mts to the west you can see sign of glaciers that cloake these mts 12,000 yrs ago. these features are on mts till tombstone campground at km 71.5.
At km 50.5 we reach the southern boundry of Tombstone Territorial Park. Established in 1999, the park protects 2,100 sq.Ks of the Ogilvie Mts and Blackstone Uplands. The road thru the park is 70 Ks long.
At km 66.0 [virtual walk here on Sat 13 Nov 2010] to the east is another feature known as 'rock glaciers'. It originates in a bowl of the mountain and this tongue of rock fragments moved much like a glacier but it is composed of rocks and only has a core of ice.

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