Box Canyon: Forest Exhibit Panel

This exhibit panel overlooks the forest that has grown over the bedrock bordering Box Canyon.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

Box Canyon along Stevens Canyon Road

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Title: A Forest Returns

Main Text
In the wake of the melting glacier, plants reclaim the bare ground in a particular sequence. From this overlook the phases of succession all appear in one view. 

On freshly exposed rock, lichens gain the first foothold in tiny cracks caused by freezing and thawing. Soil gradually forms from decaying lichen, windblown dust and debris, and rock broken down by lichen. Eventually the forest returns, like the one across the canyon. Vegetation becomes a way of measuring time since the glacier's retreat. 

Secondary Text
Plant succession also depends on soil type, sunlight, and other factors of each micro-environment. 

Exhibit Panel Description
A single photo fills the exhibit panel. In the foreground is smooth rock covered in patches of moss and lichen that gives way to grass in the middle of the photo and eventually conifer trees at the top of the photo. The main text stretches across the top third of the panel against a green background, with the secondary text in the middle of the photo on the left side. On the right side are three smaller photos, overlapping each other slightly in a vertical stack. The top photo, labeled "Lichen" shows a close-up view of a rock with yellow-green and black patches of lichen growing on it. Below it is a photo labeled "Moss", showing thicker patches of green moss growing on the rock. At the bottom is a photo labeled "Flowers" showing a small plant with thin green leaves and numerous stems topped in small, five-petaled white flowers.  A small box in the lower left corner of the panel reads "User Fee Project. Your Fee Dollars at Work. Entrance fees were used to produce this exhibit".

Visit This Exhibit Panel
This is one of three exhibit panels located at Box Canyon at the main canyon viewing area on the southeast side of the canyon. From the Paradise Road wye, Box Canyon is 8.7 miles east along Stevens Canyon Road, or 10.3 miles if heading west from the Stevens Canyon Entrance. Stevens Canyon Road is open to vehicles during the summer season only, typically June-September.