Hoh Rainforest


Hoh Rainforest is located on the Olympic Peninsula in the Pacific Northwest. It is located in western Washington state, and is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the U.S. Within Olympic National Park, the forest is protected from commercial exploitation. This includes of low elevation forest along the Hoh River. The Hoh River valley was formed thousands of years ago by glaciers. Between the park boundary and the Pacific Ocean, of river, much of the forest has been logged within the last century, although many pockets of forest remain.

Climate

Flora

The dominant species in the rainforest are Sitka spruce and western hemlock ; some grow to tremendous size, reaching in height and in diameter. Coast Douglas-fir, western redcedar, bigleaf maple, red alder, vine maple, and black cottonwood are also found throughout the forest.
Many unique mosses and lichens are also present in the rainforest, such as lettuce lichen, which "requires the cool, moist conditions found under the canopy of old-growth forests" and is consumed by deer, elk, and other animals.

Fauna

Many native fauna also make the Hoh Rainforest their home, including the Pacific tree frog, northern spotted owl, bobcat, cougar, raccoon, Olympic black bear, Roosevelt elk, and black-tailed deer.
The area is also home to the banana slug, which has recently been threatened by the encroachment of a new species of slug, the black slug, an invasive species from Northern Europe.

Sights

The Hoh Rainforest is home to a National Park Service ranger station, from which backcountry trails extend deeper into the national park.
Near the visitor center is the Hall of Mosses Trail, a short trail——which gives visitors a feel for the local ecosystem and views of maples draped with large growths of spikemoss. There is also the Spruce Nature Trail, which includes signs that identify various trailside trees and plants.

Gallery