Life Under the Snowpack

Click to read article as a PDF

There’s an active “subnivean” world down there

 

Story by Katharine Fletcher; photo by Eric Fletcher

While people snowmobile, hike, snowshoe, ski or ride horses across the winter landscape, few give much thought to what’s going on beneath them. It’s a fascinating environment called the subnivean, a word derived from Latin, where “sub” means “under” and “nives” means “snow.”

Many animals use the snowpack as shelter from harsh conditions above ground In the Ottawa Valley, mammals like voles, mice, red squirrels and shrews build tunnels, enabling them to...

Click to read entire winter issue.
My article is on p. 35.