Nature & Science

View from Big Fill Walking Trail looking to the northwest

Chuck Ryan

Natural features and their associated topography are an important part of the story at Golden Spike National Historical Park. Here, the location of archeological and historic resources are closely related to the geological terrain. The park includes arid/ semiarid shrubland, grassland, and woodland ecosystems as well as perennial streams.

The park's hillsides, mountains, and plains range in elevation from 1,329 to 1609 meters (4,360 - 5,280 feet). Annual precipitation averages 203 to 305 millimeters (8-12 inches), mostly as snow. Temperatures range from 20 degrees Farenheit in the winter to an occasional 104 degrees Farenheit in the summer. Except for Blue Creek, which crosses the park's northeastern end, there are no streams or springs in the park.

Resource management activities protect both cultural and natural resources. For instance, one goal of the park's fire management program is to re-establish natural vegetation communities and reduce sagebrush, which covered less ground in 1869. Sagebrush has caused long-term degradation of cultural features. Preservation of grade resources helps to regulate runoff during storm events, which controls erosion, prevents natural deterioration, and protects vegetation root systems.

 

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

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Golden Spike National Historical Park

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Species attribute definitions

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