38 OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



There are in parts of Kamtchatka luxuriant forests and rich 

 meadowlands and prairies, while elsewhere there are bog-lands, 

 conditions much resembling those of coastal Alaska. The char- 

 acteristic alders, birches and willows occur as well as larches and 

 spruces. Among the latter 1 the great tide-land spruce {Picea 

 Sitchensis) of western America, and a hemlock {Tsuga spf) are 

 also suggestive of the Alaska forest. Lilies, willow-herb and other 

 showy flowers are common, and the giant Umbelliferae, Heracleum 

 and Angelica, are characteristic. 



At elevations of about 1000 feet is a scrub forest of dwarf pines 

 (Pinus cembra) mixed with junipers and alders. Here also grow 

 two fine rhododendrons, a genus especially developed in eastern 

 Asia. 



Alaska 



The conditions in southwestern Alaska are not unlike those of 

 northwestern Europe. Westerly winds, the numerous islands 

 along the coast, and the deep fiords which indent it, combine to 

 produce a climate of remarkable mildness for so high a latitude. 

 This costal strip, moreover, is protected from the extremely severe 

 climate of the interior by the lofty range of mountains parallel 

 with the coast, the northern extension of the great Pacific Cordil- 

 lera. 



The mild climate and heavy rainfall, as well as the connection 

 with the Pacific Coast to the south, result in a luxuriance of vege- 

 tation unequalled in any other part of the world in the same lati- 

 tude, and can hardly be classed within the " sub-arctic" vegetation 

 of other regions. 



As far north as 60° and west to Kadiak Island the coastal region 

 of Alaska supports dense forests of large trees, and a luxuriant 

 growth of shrubs and herbaceous plants in great variety, a great 

 contrast to the Asiatic coast in corresponding latitudes. 



As the steamer makes its way through the channels between the 

 innumerable islands of the Alaskan archipelago, they are seen to 

 be clothed to the water's edge with a dense forest of tall evergreens, 

 which extend to an elevation of 1000 feet or more. 



The prevailing species is the Sitka spruce, also said to occur in 

 Kamtchatka. This is the largest of all spruces, although it does 



1 Drude, loc. cit., p. 417. 



