REINDEER IN ALASKA. 23 
over the belt of summer range immediately adjoining the coast, and 
only very scattering stands over the neighboring inland areas which 
are chiefly winter range. 
Immediately along the coast occurs the bulk of the forage most 
suitable for summer grazing, consisting largely of herbaceous and 
nonmoss growth; and adjoining this belt toward the interior lie 
the fall and winter ranges, covered largely with lichens. The belt 
of summer range will run from 7 to 30 miles wide, generally aver- 
aging about 10 to 15 miles, and the strip of winter range will equal 
and exceed this. 
The vegetation along the coast is very luxuriant, especially on 
flats, benches, and lower slopes (PL IX, Fig. 2). A hummocky 
ground of moist to wet soil, called "tundra" or " niggerheads," 
predominates on the lower elevations, and a dry, generally rocky 
ground occurs on the upper slopes and the tops of ridges. The vege- 
tation of the tundra areas is very dense, often matted, and is of 
profuse growth (PL XIII, Fig. 1). On the upper slopes and tops 
of ridges it is less dense and becomes dwarfed. On small areas of 
sandy soil which occur along the beach or in forested areas along 
streams, the grasses and weeds frequently attain a height of 3 and 4 
feet. In many places the tundra growth of mixed sedges, browse, 
grasses, weeds, and lichens will form a vegetative mat 10 to 12 
inches deep. Thickets of tall willow are often found along stream 
courses; scattering stands of alder and birch frequently occur on 
upper slopes or mixed with spruce along the larger river valleys; 
and a mixture of low brush, as ground birch, ground willow, huckle- 
berry, salmonberry, cranberry, crowberry, and tea, is abundantly 
scattered throughout the ranges. Grasses and weeds are of only 
scattering occurrence. Sedges, browse, and lichens form the bulk of 
the vegetation. 
While a general type of vegetative cover occurs over the coast 
ranges, the physical characteristics of the land and soil vary con- 
siderably, thus producing three main classes or types of range, which 
may be termed generally the dry tundra, the wet tundra, and the 
rocky areas. In terms of relative carrying capacity the dry tundra 
type should support a greater number of reindeer per acre than the 
wet tundra type. While both types will run about equally high in 
average forage production, the soft or marshy nature of the ground 
reduces the actual carrying capacity of the wet type because of the 
greater harm done to the forage plants in being ground into the wet 
earth by the trampling of grazing animals. On the other hand, the 
rocky type usually will have a lower carrying capacity than the 
other two, because of the smaller forage growth. 
