DISTRIBUTION OF AMERICAN FORESTS 
Then, lastly, there lies beyond this 
region the vast territory of the Rockies 
and the ranges of the Pacific coast. 
Extending over so great a part of 
our country, the forests of this region 
exhibit many transitions that reveal 
the intimate relations between trees 
and their natural environment; yet 
here we cannot but notice the enor- 
mous preponderance of the coniferous 
over the broadleaf trees. Indeed, it 
amounts almost to an exclusion of the 
latter; for, while some of the poplars 
and willows and several species of 
oaks and a few maples are indigenous 
to this part of the country, the last 
two in particular to portions of Cali- 
fornia, other broadleaf trees are mere 
stragglers in the land. 
The forests of the West retain much 
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