216 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



Priest River}, G. N. Ry. 25 mi. to 

 Coolin} 12 mi. by trail to Lookout (h). 



Old Burns 



Coniferous Forest, Northwestern. In 

 Bonner Co., Idaho, north end of upper 

 Priest Lake in Kaniksu National Forest. 



About one township of forestland 

 burned over at different times now show- 

 ing succession of vegetation and amount 

 of restocking of the forest trees after the 

 fires. Flora shows great variety of 

 evergreens, deciduous shrubs and an- 

 nuals, mosses, lichens, lycopods. 3000- 

 4000 ft. 



Priest River}. G. N. Ry. Cooling 

 motor boat to Forest Lodge!. Evin- 

 rudes. 



Priest River Experimental Forest 



Subalpine Meadow. In Bonner Co., 

 northern Idaho, within Kaniksu Na- 

 tional Forest. About 45,000 acres on 

 west slopes of Selkirk Range. Typical 

 subalpine meadow, and associated vege- 

 tation, the result of repeated fires. 

 Forest extending from 2300 to 6000 ft. 

 elevation. Subalpine meadow and for- 

 est of alpine fir, whitebark pine, and 

 Engelmann sprutfe. 6000 ft. 



Priest River}, G. N. Ry., (a) 15 mi. to 

 Priest River Forest Experiment Sta- 

 tion^ 



7. NATIONAL FORESTS OF CALI- 

 FORNIA. VEGETATIONAL 

 TYPES 



BY E. N. MUNNS 



The vegetation of California is prob- 

 ably more diverse than that to be found 

 in any other state, ranging from the 

 deserts of the southeastern part to the 

 rich mesophytic forests of redwood 

 and spruce along the northwest coast 

 through various kinds of brushland 

 growths, woodlands, pine, fir and sub- 

 alpine forests. Because of the range in 

 latitude, the forests have different alti- 

 tudinal levels, and the lower tree limit 

 of 6500 ft. near the Mexican boundary is 



reduced to 1000 near the Oregon line. 

 ' 'Deserts" occur in the northeast at 

 elevations of 3000 ft. while in the south, 

 they run below sea-level; the optimum 

 of the redwood region is reached but a 

 few feet above sea-level along the north- 

 west coast. 



Such a bewildering complexity of 

 plant life is due to the great variation in 

 climate brought about by latitude, 

 altitude and topography. The state is 

 characterized by a wet cold winter and a 

 hot dry summer, the winter storms us- 

 ually descending down the Pacific Coast, 

 the farther south the path of the storm, 

 the heavier the precipitation. Con- 

 versely, during the summer, the farther 

 north the storm crosses the coast-line, 

 the hotter and drier is the summer, the 

 convectional thunderstorm is common 

 in the high mountains during the sum- 

 mer. The southern part of the state 

 receives less precipitation than the 

 northern, and having a greater insola- 

 tion, is much warmer. The storm 

 clouds passing over the region deposit 

 most of their moisture on the mountains, 

 leaving the bulk of it on the seaward 

 slopes, the inland slopes and high 

 plateaus receiving comparatively very 

 little moisture. Precipitation increases 

 with altitude to an optimum in the 

 Sierras and then tapers off, but because 

 of lower temperatures, snow banks last 

 longer giving the appearance of greater 

 moisture. Along the northern coast, 

 summer fogs are frequent and result in 

 a rather even temperature and a general 

 high atmospheric moisture. 



The principal vegetative types of the 

 state include the desert, grassland, 

 chaparral, oak and juniper woodlands, 

 western yellow pine, mixed conifer, fir, 

 alpine, Douglas fir, and redwood forests. 

 In addition, there are minor types such 

 as the Torrey pine, localized on the 

 southern coast, the Monterey pine of the 

 central coast, and the big cone spruce of 

 the southern mountains. These types 

 are all influenced by the climate, and 

 altitudinal limits vary greatly with soil 

 and exposure. 



