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MISC. PUBLICATION 16 2, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



There are five principal forest regions in the United States — the 

 northern, central hardwood, southern. Rocky Mountain, and Pa- 

 cific-coast regions (fig. 6). 



NORTHERN FOREST REGION 



The northern forests of mixed conifers and hardwoods extend from 

 the Atlantic coast through New England westward across New York 

 and the upper Lake States region to the Great Plains, and southward 

 from New York along the Appalachian Mountains to northern 

 Georgia. Characteristic of the forests of this region is the mixture 

 of pine, spruce, and hemlock, with the hardwood types. 



FOREST REGIONS 



NORTHERN 

 FOREST 



Figure 6. — Principal Forest Regions of the Country. 



In the northern part of this region the most important commer- 

 cial trees have been the northern white pine, hemlock, and spruce. 

 It was the white pine forests of the Northeastern and Lake States 

 that formed the backbone of the softwood-lumber industry in this 

 country from colonial times almost to the beginning of the twentieth 

 century. The original stands of this species, however, have almost 

 entirely disappeared. Of the original growth of hemlock, only a 

 small portion remains, and the spruce forests even in the less accessi- 

 ble regions have been depleted. 



In the southern Appalachian area the eastern hardwoods attain 

 their highest development. Chestnut and yellow poplar are per- 

 haps the outstanding hardwood species of this area, but many others 

 are to be found here. Although the bulk of the virgin timber is 

 gone from the southern Appalachians, this section contains vast areas 

 of culled second-growth and restocking land. Commercially this 

 section is likely to become one of the great permanent forest areas 



