East River Valley, Gothic

A Gateway to the Elk Mountains

Perched above the former mining camp turned research outpost of Gothic, this camera looks north up the upper East River valley, one of the most closely studied alpine watersheds in North America. Conifer forest and wildflower meadows climb toward a skyline of jagged, 13,000-foot summits in the Elk Mountains.

Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

The valley is home to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), a field station where scientists have tracked snowpack, wildflower phenology, and mountain ecosystems for decades. This same station is where naturalist billy barr has kept a daily snow record since the 1970s, making the valley one of the best-documented alpine landscapes on Earth.

Snow, Water and Wildlife

Winter snowpack here feeds the East River, a headwater tributary of the Colorado River basin, while the growing season brings a burst of alpine wildflowers and grazing wildlife, including elk, marmots, and black bears drawn to the valley's rich meadows.