HELENA — Peak fall foliage in Montana typically occurs in mid-October, with aspens, cottonwoods and elms providing most of the color.
By early November, those leaves have come and gone, usually ending up being raked away.
But right now, across Western Montana, tamarack trees, also known as western larch, are adding a stunning golden palette to the forests.
Watch to learn more about the western larch:
These deciduous conifer trees have needles that turn bright gold before falling off. At peak color, the contrast between the golden needles against other dark green conifers creates picturesque scenes.
Most of these trees grow in the Columbia River drainage, west of the Continental Divide. According to the U.S. Forest Service, there are only an estimated 500 of these trees east of the Divide.
As larch trees go through their yearly ritual of transformation, many newcomers make the mistake of thinking these trees or portions of the forest are dying.
Larch needles lose their chlorophyll, which then reveals the yellow pigments before dropping to the ground. This makes them one of the few deciduous conifers.
Larch responds to environmental changes, which trigger the shedding of the needles. Larches have developed this deciduous strategy as an adaptation to their often harsh native environments characterized by extremely cold winters, short growing seasons, and variable moisture availability.
The largest western larch, named Big Gus, stands 163 feet tall near Seeley Lake and is estimated to be about 1,000 years old.
A second and last burst of fall color is just a short drive away.
