To contemplate an alpine lake or a ribbon of white water twisting down
the face of the Rocky Mountains is to appreciate the majesty of this
block of bedrock thrust up from Earth's interior, weathering eons of
nature's assaults. To learn what humans, in our brief lifespan, have
done here is to acquire a sobering sense of our place in the natural
world. Ellen Wohl's account of a year in the life of Rocky Mountain
National Park reflects a lifelong interest in these rhythms and
disruptions. Informed by a deep and intimate understanding of the
landscape, her Rocky Mountain journal is a lyrical distillation of
experience and knowledge that shows us the century-old national park as
a microcosm of the natural world in the thrall of time and humanity.
Conducting readers through the park's seasons, Wohl describes the
processes that unfold over the ages as continents drift and mountain
ranges rise, as glaciers carve the land and profound changes in the
atmosphere alter the environment. Working on the landscape in a humbler
way are beavers and elk, beetles and, not so humbly, humans, who tinker
with natural rhythms in ways big and small, as obvious as logging, road
building, and feedlot run-off, and as subtle in the short run as climate
change. Along the way, we observe the effects of nature's more violent
moments: flash floods that wash out roads and inflict damage downstream,
high winds that flatten whole hillsides in minutes, wildfires that strip
the woods in an instant or smolder all winter long.
A work of quiet power, Rhythms of Change in Rocky Mountain National
Park traces Wohl's year-long journey, deftly guiding us through the
changing seasons of one of America's most awe-inspiring natural places
in all its curiosity and wonder--and in its exposure to the larger
forces inexorably altering the natural world.
