Summer’s Thaw

One of Alaska’s natural wonders, permafrost is ground that remains frozen year-round, sometimes thousands of feet deep. In summer, it provides a frozen floor above which water can pool, birds can gather, wildflowers can flourish, and the land can come alive. As its surface layer thaws and refreezes during season after season, the permafrost rumples and morphs the surrounding earth. It etches patterns on the landscape that can often be seen only from the air. This undulating patch of bog, which lies in the wilderness 50 miles west of Anchorage, shows the artfulness of nature’s hand as well as any I have seen.