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Olympic National Park (Hoh Rain Forest)
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Olympic National Park contains some of the world's finest examples of temperate rain forests. These centers of extremely dense green vegetation result from the combination of over 12 feet of rain per year, temperate climates year round, and moist summer fogs. The finest example in the park is the Hoh Rain forest on the east side of the park in the vicinity of the Hoh River. This forest contains huge trees, some of which exceed 300 feet in height and may be 250-750 years in age, as well as mosses, ferns, wildflowers, and plants of many kinds.
The first picture below shows a portion of the upper canopy of the forest, dominated in this scene by an enormous Douglas fir tree. The Douglas fir tree typically grows from 80-200 feet in height and the trunk may measure up to 10 feet in diameter. It is an especially hardy species which can successfully survive forest fires by virtue of its heavy, corky bark.
The dominant, overwhelming color of the rain forest is green. Below the density of the vegetation can be seen.
Here it's possible to see just how vigorous these life in the forest can be. In this case a stump serves as a "nurse log" for another tree which grows directly on top of it.
One of the most interesting trails within the Hoh Rain Forest is the Hall of Mosses Trail. This trail runs through a section of the forest covered with a wide variety of mosses. An interesting tree on a section of this trail is visible below.
- Main Page for Olympic National Park -
- All photographs ©Patrick Holleran, Shannon Technologies, 1994-2010
- Commercial use of the images contained in this document without express written consent is strictly prohibited.
- Comments and other remarks can be sent via e-mail to parkvision@shannontech.com
