Across Scales: Life in the High Himalaya

A lone human and a soaring bird occupy different layers of a steep Himalayan landscape of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in India. The sharply incised ridges reflect active tectonics and fluvio-glacial modification. These two forms of life emphasize scale from ground to sky. Together, they show how life persists within and interacts with dynamic geomorphic systems despite appearing vanishingly small against them.