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Olympic National Park
Located in the north-west of Washington State, Olympic National Park is renowned for the diversity of its ecosystems. Glacier-clad peaks interspersed with extensive alpine meadows are surrounded by an extensive old growth forest, among which is the best example of intact and protected temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest. Eleven major river systems drain the Olympic mountains, offering some of the best habitat for anadromous fish species in the country. The park also includes 100 km of wilderness coastline, the longest undeveloped coast in the contiguous United States, and is rich in native and endemic animal and plant species, including critical populations of the endangered northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet and bull trout.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION Lies on the Olympic Peninsula, in the northwestern corner of the United States bordering Canada. 47°29'-48°16'N, 123°07'-124°43'W
DATE AND HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT Declared a national park on 29 June 1938. Several boundary changes have occurred since, namely: the addition of the Pacific Coastal Area and Queets River Corridor on 6 January 1953; expansion of the coastal unit to include Point of Arches and Shi Beachin in 1976; and the inclusion of the intertidal area in 1986. Accepted as a biosphere reserve in June 1976, and inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981.
AREA Comprises 369,659.8ha in two units: 352,335ha in the Olympic Mountains and 17,324.8ha in the Pacific Coastal Area.
LAND TENURE 99% Federal Government; 1% privately owned
ALTITUDE Ranges from sea-level to 2,428m
PHYSICAL FEATURES The park is divided into two segments: a mountainous core and a separate coastal strip, stretching for 90km along the Pacific coast. The rugged features of Olympic National Park are the result of the collision of drifting continental plates. When normal subduction processes associated with continental drift, moved further westward out to sea, an upwelling of submarine sediments and volcanic material followed. A dome, 95km in diameter, was created consisting of contorted beds of shale, slate and sandstone with interspersed lavas. The Olympic Mountains are the highest in this coastal range bounding the Pacific ocean, and are the central topographic feature of the park. They are of sedimentary origin and range from late Tertiary to Quaternary age. The action of 11 major rivers and many glaciers (60 of which remain) has carved the dome into a vast array of deep canyons and jagged peaks. Ancient 1,000m thick continental ice sheets transported non-native granite up to 200km from British Columbia, Canada (Tabor, 1975).
CLIMATE Climate is moderate and temperatures rarely drop below -7°C or rise above 27°C. Mean annual temperatures are 10°C at lower elevations with a yearly range from 1°C to 17°C. Storms account for 4000mm of annual precipitation in western rain forest valleys and 5000mm on Mount Olympus; only 53km to the north-east precipitation falls to 300mm, creating the greatest precipitation gradient per distance in the world at a temperate latitude.
VEGETATION The five major vegetation zones are: 1) Sitka spruce zone (36,284ha, 10%), containing temperate rain forest and characterised by Sitka spruce Picea sitchensis, western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla, western red cedar Thuja plicata, and big leaf maple Acer macrophyllum along the coast and in valley bottoms. 2) Lowland forest zone (36,284ha, 10%), characterised by western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla, western red cedar Thuja plicata, grand fir Abies grandis and Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii, an extensive fire sub-climax species up to 550m elevation. 3) Montane zone (181,425ha, 50%), characterised by western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla in lower and drier habitats, Pacific silver fir Abies amabilis in higher and damper habitats and Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii as an extensive sub-clim
posted to World Heritage Sites. at Thu Jul 17 23:41:00 EDT 2003.
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