Starting from the peak of a mountain above tree line, what
topographical, geoglogic, etc zones would I go through.  Here's what
I'm looking for...starting from the frozen peak, I soon pass through
the tree line, entering into sparse forests of ...... trees.  Further
down, I enter a dense decidous forest....until finally, after passing
through jungle and or rain forest, I arrive at sea level fresh water
which, itself, then flows to sea.

I want a typical descent of a typical mountain in a place on the
planet where the most zones, as above, would be passed through.  This
is not a real place.

When would I notice a change in the temperature?  Flora and fauna? 
the first villages, larger town, cities in the distance.  I will not
enter a city.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 10 Jun 2005 19:29 PDT

Thanks (again) for sending this my way.

I'll have to ask for your patience on this and your other question, as
I'm quite jammed up, and both questions will need some careful
attention.

I will get to them, though.  But if you're in a rush, post a response
here asking to open the question up to all researchers.

Cheers,

paf

---

Clarification of Question by ryoyu-ga on 11 Jun 2005 04:38 PDT

Paf,

I can wait on the question about mountains in literature.  What you
have sent thus far gives me a start and if necessary I can add and
edit when it's time to do a re-write (if there is one - my editor says
what she has seen so far is pretty clean)  So no problem there.

On the "geography" question, I didn't know I would need to ask it
until yesterday and actually I need an answer today because that's in
the final chapter and my deadline is this thursday so I will be
writing straight through.  Your choice - if you can get something to
get me started today and then a fuller answer by wed, that's fine.
Otherwise, can you open it up or do I have to do that?

There will be plenty more questions.  I'm starting a book that will be
a lot of fun in about two weeks.  The current one is due to be
published next march and the production process is daunting.

Thanks for your candor,

Ryo

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 11 Jun 2005 04:43 PDT

No need to re-post the question.  I will let the GA community know
this question is open to all, and that you need at least a partial
answer today.

paf

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Clarification of Question by ryoyu-ga on 11 Jun 2005 06:29 PDT

Thanks.

---

Clarification of Question by ryoyu-ga on 11 Jun 2005 09:16 PDT

Here's a good model, I think.  It's a trip I've taken and my
recollection is that it went through many "zones".  I started at Mt.
Chomolari in Bhutan; down the mountain and then southerly towards
India...I ended up in Calcutta, but I would think there would be a
sea-level, fertile destination before that. Hope that helps whoever is
now working on this....

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Clarification of Question by ryoyu-ga on 11 Jun 2005 12:27 PDT

Myoarin, Thank you.  I think I can paste something together out of all
of those. But I'll sill hope someone is going to create a narrative! 
Ryoyu

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 12 Jun 2005 06:13 PDT

Ryo,


Looks like no one's picked up on this question to answer it, but I
wanted to at least toss a few links at you that might be useful:


http://www.geo.arizona.edu/Antevs/biomes/mtnbiom.html
MOUNTAIN BIOMES


http://www.geo.arizona.edu/Antevs/biomes/
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES


These might be a help (to you or to another researcher) in visualizing
the descent -- at least as it might look in the desert southwest.


paf

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Clarification of Question by ryoyu-ga on 12 Jun 2005 13:21 PDT

Pafalafa and Myoarin,

Thanks so much!  I am going to leave the question open for a few more
days as I ended up having to rewrite entirely the chapter that
proceeded the one that will have the mountain metaphor.  I will write
that one by thursday and the book, the gods willing, will be finished!
 Three months from starting line to finish line.  Ryo

Hello ryoyu-ga,

I think I?ve found a wonderful illustration for you of the changing
terrain going from the tip of a mountain to its base. It?s the climb
of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the ?lower 48 states? starting
from Death Valley, the lowest point in the continental US. This is a
challenging trip that is very popular and there are lots of
descriptions available. I?ve provided you with several to give you
both short and long versions. I?ve also included accounts that are
accompanied by maps, graphs, photos and other illustrations.

Best wishes for finishing your book.

~ czh ~


http://ladesai.home.att.net/index.html
http://ladesai.home.att.net/lowhigh/index.html
http://ladesai.home.att.net/lowhigh/map.html
http://ladesai.home.att.net/lowhigh/graph.html
The Lowest to the Highest: The Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Walk

On July 31, 2003, Ron Perkins and I set out from Badwater in Death
Valley (elevation 282 feet below sea level) to walk all the way to the
top of Mt. Whitney (elevation 14,497 feet above sea level),
approximately 150 miles away. Did we make it? You will just have to
read my report.

***** This is a detailed and illustrated story of two hikers going by
foot from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney. They describe the scenery,
temperature, terrain and illustrate it with pictures, map and graphs.

-------------------------------------------------


http://cs1.cs.nyu.edu/~ad675/Whitney.htm
Into the Valley Of Death: A Photo feature

***** This is a wonderful description of the climb and it?s
illustrated with terrific photos showing the changing terrain.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/sep/stories/whitney.html
http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/mar/stories/dv2day.html
Climbing Mt. Whitney -- Death Valley 2-Day Excusion

***** This is another fairly detailed description of the climb up Mt.
Whitney with lots of pictures.

-------------------------------------------------


http://forums.backpacker.com/thread.jspa?threadID=62537&messageID=1065761
Re: Death Valley to Mt. Whitney (wet dream, but curious) 
Posted: May 9, 2005 9:52 PM 
Warning, long story follows.

My brother-in-law Dave and I hiked from Death Valley to Mt Whitney in
September of 2004. We decided to do it with a weeks notice while
driving back from a climb of White Peak. So I dropped Dave off in
Huntington Beach, then turned right around and went back to reverse
scout the trail. The original plan was to go from the low point, which
is in the basin, not at Badwater itself, and hike up Trail Canyon,
then bushwack up the creek bed to Aguereberry Point, then drop down to
Wild rose, over to Panamint Springs, and follow the road from that
point on to Whitney Portal.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.azhikers.org/reports/whitney98.html
Mount Whitney

***** This is a very detailed description of the ascent of the mountain.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.garyscottthompson.com/furniture14000.htm
Mt. Whitney Trip Report

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.badwaterultra.com/index.html
Badwater Ultramarathon

Held as a race since 1987, this great tradition began with Al Arnold's
solo trek from Badwater to Mt. Whitney in 1977, Jay Birmingham's
record-breaking run in 1981, followed by scores of successful, and
unsuccessful, solo efforts, and then the Badwater 135 races from 1987
through 1999. Continuing that tradition, AdventureCORPS has produced
the Badwater Ultramarathon since 1999

***** Lots of stories, news reports, photos and background information.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.caoutdoors.com/Mt._Whitney__California.htm
Mt. Whitney

***** This site offers a huge collection of links describing the climb
up Mt. Whitney. There are descriptions of the terrain, photos, maps
and lots of personal accounts.

-------------------------------------------------


http://wikitravel.org/en/Death_Valley
Death Valley

***** Very detailed information with lots of illustrations and photos.




===============
SEARCH STRATEGY
===============
mt whitney to death valley

This turned into a group effort and I was impressed by the efforts of
Pafalafa-ga, Myoarin-ga and Czh-ga.  The stuck with it and got me what
I needed.  It was a difficult question and probably too vague but they
got it!

HI Ryoyu,
While I have been searching, I hope someone has found what you want.
Such a description must be out there somewhere, but not found with my
meager skills.  Perhaps these will be of a little help:

http://www.nrel.colostate.edu/brd_global_change/research_themes.html

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/glacier/natcul/natcul1c_e.asp#parklands

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial_pa.html

On the last one, you can scroll down the list and find different
geographical zones.  Tundra is further down on this one, or you click
on the various hedings and access different lists.
When you click on one of the numbered lines, you get a small photo of
the vegetation and a description.

Mabe a researcher could build you a list of more or less adjacents
sites to take you down the mountain.

The two areas that come to mind that fulfill the complete tour are the
west coast of the South Island, NZ, and the Pacific Northwest.
Kilimanjaro gets down to rainforest.
Here are a couple of sites:

http://www.mount-kilimanjaro.de/    (hmm, that one is German)

http://www.peakware.com/encyclopedia/peaks/kilimanjaro.htm
a couple of climbers' reports.

http://gorp.away.com/gorp/location/africa/tanzania/home_kil.htm

http://www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/wh/kilimanj.html
This may be the best description with flora and other details

http://www.africatravelresource.com/africa/E/tanzania/accommodation/N/T65-kilimanjaro/00.htm#

Or this, scroll down past the history, etc., for something that might help you.

HOpe this can be of some help.  I know you want to do as little
clicking and reading as possible.

Good luck, Myoarin

ryo,

Very glad to see you got such a thorough and timely answer...even if
it took a bit longer than we all thought it would.

Best of luck on your book.

paf

Paf, many thanks, Ryo

Thank you very much ryoyu-ga for the kind words, five stars and very
generous tip. As you can see, researchers and commentors love to
participate in interesting research projects. I look forward to your
future questions.

~ czh ~