The perils of permafrost

The trees, already much smaller than in most coniferous forests, became shorter and sparser the farther we went into the park. The permafrost just a few feet below the surface prevents them from putting out deep root systems, and sometimes the trees grow at weird angles because they don't have the roots to keep them upright.

(The quality of these pictures is not perfect but it's still definitely worth while to click on them and see the enlarged versions.)