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National Parks Week - Olympic

Hall of Mosses, Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Park, Washington

 

This is the second of my posts for National Parks Week here in the U.S., featuring an image from each of the three national parks in my home state of Washington.

 

It was difficult to decide what to feature for Olympic National Park, as it is an extremely diverse park, with the Olympic Mountains, beautiful lakes, the Pacific beaches of the Wilderness Coast, and the unique temperate Hoh rainforest.

 

Ultimately I decided to go with an image from the rainforest, since it is perhaps the most well known highlight of the park, which is both a UNESCO World Heritage site and an International Biosphere Reserve. It is one of largest remaining temperate rainforests and some of the old growth trees here are over 1000 years old. The forest typically gets over 12 feet/3.6 meters of rain every year, which supports the lush plant growth and the moss that drapes so many of the trees. Hiking in this forest is almost like entering an entirely different hidden world, sometimes it feels as though one is being enveloped by the trees and vegetation.

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Uploaded on April 20, 2022
Taken on May 23, 2021