Here's a brief glimpse. Looking south toward the Brooks Range mountains across the low, tundra-covered coastal plain. Cows and calves of the 152,000 member Porcupine Caribou herd. The Refuge is sculpted in snow and ice for up to nine months each year. Tundra plants and permafrost features are found throughout the Refuge coastal plain.
Biologists work throughout the year to study muskox within the Refuge.
Fireweed and numerous other wild flowers help paint the landscape during the long summer days. Snowy owl numbers in the Refuge fluctuate with the size of the lemming population. Visitors are captivated by the immensity of the Refuge and the awesome beauty of its features. The rugged and remote Brooks Range mountains extend for hundreds of miles. Most visitors come to the Refuge in the summer, many to float the rivers.