The Olympic rain forest : an ecological web
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The forest of the northwest coast of North America accounts for two-thirds of the world's temperate-zone rain forest, which is a fraction of the size of the more publicized tropical rain forest but is currently being logged at a comparable rate. Published at a time of concern and controversy regarding the future of the forest, this book provides a fresh examination of the natural dynamics that have produced the remarkably lush growth characterizing roughly two thousand miles of coast from Coos Bay, Oregon, to the Gulf of Alaska - a stretch of greater north-south ecological sameness than exists anywhere else on earth. The rain forest valleys of Washington's Olympic Peninsula stand out as the showpiece of this region. Because the forest's productivity and sheer biomass per square mile are among the world's greatest, it is recognized as a National Park, a World Biosphere Reserve, and a World Heritage Site.