Forests of the Pacific Coast 



Near San Diego, about Delmar, occurs an island 

 of the peculiar Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana). It 

 is found elsewhere only on Santa Rosa Island, one 

 of the Santa Barbara group. 



On the high mountain summits of southern Cali- 

 fornia, such as those of the San Gabriel, San Bernar- 

 dino and San Jacinto ranges, the four leading spe- 

 cies of the Sierras, white fir, yellow and sugar pine, 

 and incense cedar recur and are likewise the pre- 

 vailing species. The forest stand is much more 

 open than that in the north. (See PI. XIX.) 



in Oregon and Washington a practically con- 

 tinuous forest extends from the ocean over both 

 slopes of the Coast Ranges to the eastern base of 

 the Cascades. The most abundant conifer is the 

 Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia). It forms vast 

 and very dense stands in the rain forest between 

 the coast and the Cascades. On account of the 

 lightness, strength and straight grain of the wood, 

 the timber of this species (sold as Oregon pine) 

 is very valuable. Sticks of unexampled length, 

 one hundred feet long and two feet square are car- 

 ried in stock by the mills and twice that length 

 can be furnished. Along the Oregon and Wash- 

 ington coasts the lowland fir (Abies grandis), the 

 Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), and coast hemlock 

 (Tsuga heterophylla) grow to very great size, 

 usually in company with the magnificent canoe 

 cedar (Thuya plicata). From the wood of the 

 latter the northern Indians made their great war 

 canoes; and from the bark of the same tree they 

 manufactured mats, clothing, rope and various 

 other articles. In its human relations this is the 

 most interesting tree of tne northwest coast. 



The fine forest on Mount Rainier ofi*ers the most 

 convenient means of studying several characteristic 

 northern mountain species of unusual interest, such 

 as the lovely fir (Abies amabilis) and noble fir 

 (Abies nobilis). The alpine hemlock (Tsuga mer- 

 tensiana), with its slender steeple-like top resting 

 on a broad base, is one of the delightful trees of 

 the subalpine zone, an area which includes the 

 subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and the white-bark 

 pine (Pinus albicaulis), two of the most widespread 

 and characteristic trees. Another prevailing sub- 

 alpine species of the timber-line slope of Mount 

 Rainier is the Nootka cedar (Chamaecyparis noot- 

 katensis). 



Ihe forests of the Pacific Coast are remarkable 

 in that they have at once great biological and dis- 

 tributional interest, and are of very great economic 

 value. From the standpoint of water protection and 



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