— 77 — 



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Fig. I — Sketch-map of the western portion of Whatcom County, Washington. 



disappeared from the inhabited district. The above often originally formed 

 nearly pure stands over large areas but mixed with them occur more or less fre- 

 quently Tsuga heterophylla, Abies grandis, and Picea sitchensis. Now and then 

 in a bog is found a patch of Pinus contorta. In the higher mountains are exten- 

 sive forests of Tsuga mertensiana, and still higher are four species of Abies, Taxus 

 brevifolia, and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis. Pinus monticola is occasional at 

 all altitudes. 



Intermingled with the conifers are patches of greater or lesser extent, espe- 

 cially on low ground, of various deciduous trees. Alnus oregana is the most 

 abundant of these; Betula occidentalism Acer macrophyllum, Acer circinatum, 

 Prunus emarginata erecta, Populus trichocarpa, Pyrus diversifolia, Pyrus sitchensis, 

 Rhamnus purshiana, Salix lasiandra Lyallii, and Salix scouleriana are practically 

 all the trees of any importance. 



Weather records kept at Bellingham for a number of years past show a mean 

 annual precipitation of about 31.5 inches. Back a few miles from salt water 

 the rainfall is two or three inches less, with much greater extremes of both heat 

 and cold. At my home twelve miles from Bellingham the thermometer has 

 dropped to 8 degrees below zero, Fahr., and has risen to over 90 degrees above. 

 The rainfall is mostly distributed through the winter and spring months; in 

 the summer the precipitation is scanty or even altogether absent for several 

 months, but throughout the year there is a good deal of foggy or cloudy weather. 

 The western portion of Whatcom County lies in the rainshadow of the Olympics 

 and the mountains on Vancouver Island, hence the relatively light precipitation. 

 As one ascends the Cascades the rainfall rapidly increases, so that at a height 



