Facebook Instagram Linkedin Patreon Paypal Pinterest TikTok Twitter Youtube

Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes 30 seconds

The Sahara of the Rockies

Okay, maybe that’s a *bit* of an exaggeration, but Jackman Flats is a one of a kind sand dune ecosystem – just like the Sahara, but in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. 

Where in the world are we? And what in the world is this place doing covered in sand? 

Welcome to Jackman Flats – a very sandy Rocky Mountain ecosystem. 

It might, in places, look like a desert.  

It’s not. 

In fact – slight side bar here – there are very few places in Canada that are true deserts and many of the places we assume to be deserts aren’t. 

What do I mean?

Well, how about Osoyoos in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley: Many people think it’s a desert. Guess what? Not a desert.

(BC has only one true desert and it’s a tiny crescent moon shaped sliver of land below the town of Ashcroft, which is mostly known for being Vancouver’s garbage dump and maybe should consider re-branding itself.)

Though many assumed deserts, like Osoyoos, might have desert habitat, true deserts are defined by having less than 250mm of precipitation a year (the more you know!) and neither Osoyoos nor Jackman Flats are lacking in yearly precipitation.

What Jackman does have (and the Okanagan doesn’t) is the traditional desert sand dune landscape, albeit interspersed with forest cover that looks anything like what you’d find in the Sahara.

Both Jackman Flats and the Sahara Desert – all sand dune ecosystems in fact – have a similar origin story: a disappeared shallow body of water left behind a foundation of sediment that was filled with sand created from the erosion of rock.

In the case of Jackman Flats, that lost body of water was a lake formed by retreating glaciers and the strong winds of the Rocky Mountain Trench – a wind tunnel of sorts – helped erode the surrounding mountains, turning some of Rockies to sand and depositing their remains here.

Sand dunes: voila!  

via GIPHY

Here’s where Jackman and the Sahara paths diverge: This ecosystem is actually part of the sub-boreal ecoregion (and you know all about that by now, or do you?) and that means that while it’s extremely dry here, drop four metres and you’re in that stereotypical boreal wetland. 

Wait,

what?

That’s right. Sand dunes and wetlands, separated by a mere four metres. 

You see, sand by its very nature is porous, which means it doesn’t retain water well, but it does act as a speedy conveyor that pulls water from the ground and helps it up to the atmosphere. So areas higher in Jackman are dryer and sandier, but lower down, they’re wetter – all because of the same process. 

In most sand dune ecosystems, the sand just covers over top of wet soil, but here, the trees leave part of the landscape exposed and sandy, while protect other areas and allow them to be true wetlands. 

Which is why it may look dry and unforgiving, but is actually a hotbed for biodiversity. 

Sure, it doesn’t have the biomass – or life per square centimetre – of the inland rainforest, but it’s not Starvation Flats, the flawed early settler name for the landscape.

Jackman provides some of the most important plant and fungi habitat in western Canada because of its unique geography. It’s a hotspot for mistletoe (you know, that thing you kiss under during the holidays in Hallmark movies, but is highly endangered as writer Ian Brown told us in his podcast) and rare mushrooms, mosses and plants, many of which are rare and two of which are highly endangered and found nowhere else in the province.

via GIPHY

But Jackman, aside from sand, is best known for diverse, colourful species of lichens. And, look, lichen doesn’t sound exciting (unless you’re a closet botanist) until you realize how truly special it is.

For starters, it’s not a moss or even a plant. It’s a cryptogam, which aside from sounding fun, means that lichen is the byproduct of a romance between algae and fungi. And I do mean romance. 

Lichen is one of biodiversity best examples of symbiosis – where different living organisms exist in the same body and benefit equally from the relationship.  

It’s like a uptopian anti-Bachelor in the form of a crazy seaweed mushroom hybrid that can grow anywhere – like on rocks or trees or the shell of animals or even human creations, like plastic.  

Or sand dune

ecosystems.

And it’s why lichen is critical to keeping soil stable in unstable environments – it helps manage the ecosystem above the ground and below, which in turn sustains numerous species, but none more so than the caribou. 

Lichen and the caribou are actually intricately linked. Because lichen is not a plant and can’t be seeded, it’s caribou that act as its primary gardener.  

And though they can no longer be found in Jackman Flats, caribou are the primary reason lichen can be found here – the reason why several species of lichen are found only here. 

Without the caribou calling this place home and facing the same issues plaguing much of the sub-boreal landscape, Jackman has become a fragile ecosystem.  

The good news? It’s protected. 

This small, but mighty gem of biodiversity was protected not that long ago because the Tête Jaune Community Club, led by Barbara Zimmer (let’s name the heroes amongst us), decided the firewood cutting and ATV use should probably be done elsewhere. After all, there a lot of places for people, but only 500 hectares of sand that’s not really just sand, but a year-round place for fungi and algae to spend some quality time together creating beautiful not-moss that can hold soil in place and sustain a bunch of species that would otherwise be lost if not for the caribou leaving it behind before they disappeared.

Which, when you think about it, is pretty cool.  

The Sahara of the Rockies, sort of, saved by everyday citizens who saw a problem and tried to solve it. And they did. And we’re all better for it.

PS

We should also be grateful Jackman Flats is a sand dune ecosystem and not a reservoir today. Why? Because in the 1950s, the US Army Corps of Engineers came up with one of the weirdest ideas in human history to divert the major rivers of Alaska and Canada’s north into a massive 800 kilometre-long human-made lake in what we refer to as the Rocky Mountain Trench, sending that precious freshwater into the lower 48 of the United States. Which aside from being massively expensive, incredibly over the top, environmentally ruinous, might have also caused a bit of, um, tension between our fair nations, despite early support from the less-than-stellar-looking-in-hindsight former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.

Anyway. Weird story. Go look it up.

via GIPHY

What do you think?

  • How much did you know about the sand dune ecosystem before this story? How did you know so much, or why did you know so little?
  • What was the most surprising thing you learned reading this story? Why did you find it surprising? How would you share what you’ve learn from this story with your friends and family?
  • Do you think the sand dune ecosystem matters? Why or why not?
  • How have your opinions on the sand dune ecosystem been influenced by media and pop culture?
  • Do you think your perspectives on sand dunes have been shaped because of the media you’ve consumed in the past? How could you learn more about sand dunes - and different perspectives - about sand dunes going forward without it becoming a chore?
  • How does the sand dune ecosystem impact your world? If Jackman Flats disappeared, how might it affect your life? Would it?
  • Is there a similar sand dune or unique ecosystem near you? If not, what is the closest region that has a unique ecosystem?
  • What local decisions impact sand dunes or other unique ecosystems? Are there any citizen science projects to help others learn about the unique ecosystems in your area? Are there community research programs? Any stories about these ecosystem? How might different careers influence the future of the sand dune ecosystem or another unique ecosystem?
  • Do you think our society is making well informed decisions when it comes to managing unique ecosystems? Why do you think that? What would you do better?
  • How might you be a better steward of unique ecosystems through your passions and hobbies?
  • What do we not know when it comes to the sand dune region in Mount Robson, or a unique ecosystem in or near your community? Do we know enough, or do we need to know more about their role in the ecosystem and their value to biodiversity to make important decisions for people and nature? If so, what?
  • How might we help balance the needs of people and nature in places like Jackman Flats?
Sign up for Nature Labs for free!

Explore More

Virtually hike Jackman Flats