SPHAGNUM BOGS OF ALASKA 



179 



village is piped from the pond thus created. The formation of 

 this bog was not due to the presence of the dam. The bog was 

 there long before the dam was constructed and there was no free 

 drainage from it. The water escaped from it by seepage only. 



Portions of the hillsides bordering the bog are covered with a 

 growth of low alder (3 to 5 feet high) and there is some willow not 

 quite so high as the alder. Both of these grow down to the edges 

 of the bog but do not grow in it at all. Popof Island as well as 

 the other islands of the Shumagin group is, as is well known, 

 treeless except for these low alders and willows. 



Sphagnum is dominant throughout practically all of the flat 

 undrained area. Other plants of the bog are as follows : 



Empetrum nigrum, Ledum palustre, Loiseleuria procurnbeuSj Vaccinium vitis- 

 idaea, Andromeda polifolia, Oxycoccxis oxycoccus, Drosera rotundifolia, Betula sp. 

 (prostrate), Eriophorum, Salix reticulata, Menyanthes trifoliala (is pools), Rubus 

 chamaemorusil) . 



The first four plants in the above list were common on the very 

 thin soil that partially covers the rocks on the sides and tops of 

 the hills alongside this bog. 



When a cavity a foot deep was scooped out in the peat, water 

 quickly accumulated as it does in Puget Sound bogs. 



UNGA ISLAND, AUGUST 1-4 



Extensive bog areas were found on the neck of land between 

 Zachary Bay and Popof Strait. The flora of both the bogs and 

 the neighboring hills was like that observed a few days earlier at 

 Sand Point. 



SUMMARY OF FACTS ABOUT ALASKAN BOGS 



1. Sphagnum grows in many localities and in a variety of con- 

 ditions without forming bogs. Examples: on logs and in swamps — 

 Juneau and Dixon Harbor; on upturned roots of trees — Yakutat 

 Bay; on hillsides — Excursion Inlet; on sandy flat — Yakutat Bay; 

 on soil in woods — Yakutat Bay; on soil in open places — Cape 

 Douglas. 





