Get Outdoors - Destinations: Olympic's "Three Parks in One"

Often referred to as "three parks in one", Olympic National Park encompasses 3 distinctly different ecosystems - rugged glacier capped mountains, over 60 miles of wild Pacific coast and magnificent stands of old-growth and temperate rain forest. These diverse ecosystems are still largely pristine in character (about 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness) and are Olympic''s gift to you.The Mountains
The Olympic Mountains are not very high - Mount Olympus, the highest, is just under 8,000 feet - but they rise almost from the water''s edge and intercept moisture-rich air masses that move in from the Pacific. As this air is forced over the mountains, it cools and releases moisture in the form of rain or snow. At lower elevations rain nurtures the forests while at higher elevations snow adds to glacial masses that relentlessly carve the landscape. The mountains wring precipitation out of the air so effectively that areas on the northeast corner of the peninsula experience a rain shadow and get very little rain. The town of Sequim gets only 17 inches a year, while less than 30 miles away Mount Olympus receives over 220 inches falling mostly as snow.

A number of newer theories have been presented recently regarding the origin of the Olympics. Geologists continue to discover new information that contributes to the debate. The following theory is one that has been traditionally accepted for a number of decades:

These mountains have risen from the sea. For eons, wind and rain washed sediments from the land into the ocean. Over time these sediments were compressed into shale and sandstone. Meanwhile, vents and fissures opened under the water and lava flowed forth, creating huge underwater mountains and ranges called seamounts.
The plate(s) that formed the ocean floor inched toward North America about 35 million years ago and most of the sea floor went beneath the continental land mass. Some of the sea floor, however, was scraped off and jammed under the mainland, creating the dome that was the forerunner of today''s Olympics. Powerful forces fractured, folded, and over-turned rock formations, which helps explain the jumbled appearance of the Olympics.
Radiating out from the center of the dome, streams, and later a series of glaciers, carved peaks and valleys, creating the beautiful, craggy landscape we know today. Ice Age glacial sheets from the north deepened the Strait of Juan Fuca and Puget Sound, isolating the Olympics from nearby landmasses. Surrounded on 3 sides by water and still crowned by alpine glaciers, the Olympics retain the distinctive character that developed from their isolation.

The Coasts
The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is adminstered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and was designated in 1994 as the first National Marine Sanctuary in the Pacific Northwest. Encompassing about 3,300 square miles, the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary lies off of Washington State''s Olympic Peninsula, extending 135 miles along the Washington Coast from about Cape Flattery to the mouth of the Copalis River. The seaward boundary of the Sanctuary varies from about 25 to 40 miles offshore. This includes most of the continental shelf, as well as parts of 3 important submarine canyons, the Nitinat Canyon, the Quinault Canyon and the Juan de Fuca Canyon.

The Sanctuary shares 48 miles of coastline with Olympic National Park, including some of the last remaining wilderness coastline in the lower 48 states. Olympic National Park and the Sanctuary share resource management jurisdiction in the intertidal zone.

Sanctuary waters include many types of crucial habitat. Nearshore kelp beds, subtidal reefs, rocky and sandy intertidal zones, submarine canyons and plankton-rich upwelling zones all support biodiversity. 3 national wildlife refuges are located within the Sanctuary: Flattery Rocks NWR, Quillayute Needles NWR and Copalis Rock NWR. The refuges protect over 800 named and unnamed offshore rocks, seastacks and islands. Significant natural resources include 29 species of marine mammals, nesting seabirds, including common murres, rhinoceros auklets and tufted puffins, haulouts for Steller sea lions and nest sites for peregrine falcons, both protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Sea otters, eliminated by fur hunters in the early 20th century, were reintroduced in 1969 and 1970. Their numbers have risen since then to about 500 animals.

The Sanctuary includes traditional fishing areas for 4 coastal Indian tribes, the Makah, Quileute, Hoh and Quinault Tribes. Each of the tribes is represented on the Sanctuary Advisory Council and is an important resource management partner for the Sanctuary.

Over 150 documented shipwrecks occurred within the area of the Sanctuary. Protecting cultural and historical resources is an important Sanctuary mandate.The Rainforests
The temperate rain forest in the valleys of the Quinault, Queets, and Hoh rivers are protected and contain some of the most spectacular examples of undisturbed Sitka spruce/western hemlock forests in the lower 48 states. This ecosystem stretches along the Pacific Coast from Oregon to Alaska; other temperate rain forests are found in several isolated areas throughout the world.

What defines a rain forest quite simply is rain - lots of it. Precipitation here ranges from 140 to 167 inches (12 to 14 feet) every year. The mountains to the east also protect the coastal areas from severe weather extremes. Seldom does the temperature drop below freezing in the rain forest and summertime highs rarely exceed 80 F.

The dominant species in the rain forest are Sitka spruce and western hemlock; some grow to tremendous size, reaching 300 feet in height and 23 feet in circumference. Douglas-fir, western redcedar, bigleaf maple, red alder, vine maple, and black cottonwood are also found throughout the forest.

Nearly every bit of space is taken up with a living plant. Some plants even live on others. These are the epiphytes, plants that do not come into contact with the earth, but also are not parasites. They are partly responsible for giving the rain forest its "jungly" appearance. Mosses, lichens and ferns cover just about anything else. Oregon oxalis is also a common ground cover. But because of this dense ground cover it is hard for seedlings to get a start. Many seedlings germinate on fallen, decaying trees. As they grow they send their roots down the log to the ground. Eventually the log rots completely away and a row of young trees is left, up on stilt-like roots, all in a row. The thick and protective vegetation also provides excellent habitats for the animals of the rain forest. In turn, they contribute to the health of the forest by keeping the rampant vegetation under control by browsing.

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