| 释义 |
ˈtimberline Chiefly N. Amer.
Also timber line, timber-line.
[timber n.1]
1. On a mountain, the line or level above which no trees grow. Freq. with omission of the. Also attrib.
1867Harper's Mag. June 17/2 A high mountain ridge divided into innumerable peaks, all of which tower above the timber-line. 1874Coues Birds N.-W. 272 The flowers growing far above timber-line of Mount Lincoln. 1904Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. XIV. 557 On the mountains of central Idaho, the cold timberline is sharply drawn at an elevation of about 10,000 feet, while the dry timberline, equally well defined, has an elevation of about 7,000 feet. 1936Scrutiny IV. 443 Timber-line settlers. 1961R. M. Patterson Buffalo Head ii. 40 ‘The timberline country I would learn to call it in the years to come. 1966Encycl. N.Z. I. 730/1 Upper timber-line belts are largely composed of broadleaf shrubs. 1980Outdoor Life (U.S.) (Northeast ed.) Oct. 100/2 Hunters working from 8,000-feet to timberline.
2. In the northern hemisphere, the line north of which no trees grow.
1896C. Whitney On Snow-Shoes to Barren Grounds 287 How well I remember that birch-tree! And how delighted I was, for I knew by that sign the timber-line was very close. 1934P. H. Godsell Arctic Trader 288 We had a warm camp that night, as we were still within the timber line. 1977A. Hallam Planet Earth 88 In practice we find that the zone of continuous permafrost is limited to those areas where the mean annual temperature is -15°C..and this also roughly coincides with the timber⁓line, the northernmost point where trees exist. |