244 FERNOW 



THE COAST FOREST. 



Entirely different in composition, manner of distribu- 

 tion, and development is the coast forest a result of the 

 widely different character of the climate it enjoys. 



This forest is an extension of the coast forest of Wash- 

 ington and British Columbia, but as it pushes northward it 

 gradually loses some of its species and deteriorates in indi- 

 vidual development. It covers the many islands of the 

 Alexander Archipelago and the panhandle along the main 

 coast as far as the head of Lynn Canal (only the steeper 

 and higher slopes remaining bare) and skirts the shore from 

 Cape Spencer westward with a narrow belt, rarely over 

 ten miles in width, along the foot of the snowy Fair- 

 weather and Mount St. Elias ranges, following up the 

 valley of the Copper River, surrounding the shores of 

 Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet, covering Afognak, 

 Spruce, and other neighboring islands, and coming to a 

 rather abrupt termination on the north shore of Kadiak 

 Island. Here groves of spruce are restricted to the 

 lower shore lands and sheltered localities. Ugak Bay on 

 the east, and Cape Uganuk on the west side of the island, 

 are the farthest western and southern points of forest 

 growth. Similar groves in similar situations occur on 

 the Alaska Peninsula around Kukak Bay. 



There is some evidence that this western limit is not, 

 or may not remain, stable that the spruce has wandered 

 in recent times, and may still wander. There is also evi- 

 dence that the treeless country beyond, made up of the 

 Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands, is not incapable 

 of growing trees. 



An interesting evidence of the progress of the spruce 

 may be seen on Long Island, a few miles east of Kadiak, 

 where an extensive spruce grove has established itself 

 within the last century. Many trees had been freshly cut, 



