• Mount Rainier peeks through clouds, viewed across subalpine wildflowers and glacial moraine.

    Mount Rainier

    National Park Washington

The TwiLIFE Zone

Mount Rainier from the Moraine Trail at Paradise.
The biotic (living) elements found (or not found) in an environment like Mount Rainier's alpine ecosystem are influenced by abiotic (non-living) factors such as temperature, wind, water flow, rock type, and soil.
NPS, Steve Redman
 
Overview: In this inquiry-based activity students will conduct a field study of four different environments as they focus on sunlight, soil, rock types, temperature, wind, water flow, plants, and animals in each environment. By comparing different environments, students will consider how nonliving elements influence living elements in an ecosystem.
Grade Level:
 5 - 8
Objectives: Students will describe similarities and differences they observe in the non-living (abiotic) and living (biotic) components in four life zones.

Students will identify ways that abiotic components of an ecosystem affect biotic components.
Lesson Plan:
 The TwiLIFE Zone - word, 53KB
The TwiLIFE Zone - pdf, 754KB
Resources: The TwiLIFE Zone Brainstorming Questions
The TwiLIFE Zone Data Sheet

Did You Know?

Volunteers from Japan working on the Kautz boardwalk accessible trail.

Mount Fuji in Japan is Mount Rainier's sister mountain. Visitors from Japan have noted a strong resemblance between the two volcanoes. Mount Rainier is honored to have a contingent of volunteers from Japan come to the park each year for two weeks to work on a project.