26 



FORESTS OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. 



where it grows at sea level. On Mount Rainier it occurs at altitudes 

 of from 3,500 to 7,500 feet. It forms dense forests under 4,500 feet, 

 where it is often a fair-sized tree 50 to 90 feet high. With the as- 

 cent of the mountain it diminishes in height and the branches become 

 gnarled and twisted. Near timber line the trunk is dwarfed and 



FIG. 19. Two solitary mountain hemlocks (Tsuya incrtcnsiand), Spray Park, 



Mount Rainier National Park. 



Photograph by Geo. O. Ceasar. 



bent at the base and the crown becomes a flattened mass of branches 

 lying close to the ground (fig. 20). 



The mountain hemlock is abundant on high, rocky ridges, but the 

 best stands are on cool, moist soil at the heads of ravines, on flats, and 

 on gentle slopes with a northern exposure. 



