NATURAL HISTORY HANDBOOK SERIES No. 1
WASHINGTON, D. C., 1954 (Revised 1965)
_Administration_
Olympic National Park, established on June 29, 1938, and containing
about 1,400 square miles, is administered by the National Park Service,
U.S. Department of the Interior.
The National Park System, of which this park is a unit, is dedicated to
conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United
States for the benefit and enjoyment of its people.
A superintendent, whose address is 600 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles,
Wash., 98362, is in immediate charge of the park.
_America’s Natural Resources_
Created in 1849, the Department of the Interior—America’s Department of
Natural Resources—is concerned with the management, conservation, and
development of the Nation’s water, wildlife, mineral, forest, and park
and recreational resources. It also has major responsibilities for
Indian and territorial affairs.
As the Nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department works to
assure that nonrenewable resources are developed and used wisely, that
park and recreational resources are conserved, and that renewable
resources make their full contribution to the progress, prosperity, and
security of the United States—now and in the future.
_Contents_
PAGE
THE MOUNTAINS ARE FORMED 2
GLACIATION 5
THE SHAPE OF THE LAND TODAY 5
GLACIERS TODAY 6
CLIMATE AND THE WATER CYCLE 9
THE FORESTS AND WILDFLOWERS 11
Rain Forest 13
Mountain Vegetation 16
HOW TO IDENTIFY SOME COMMON PLANTS 23
Trees 23
Shrubs 27
Nonwoody Plants 28
WILDLIFE 35
You and the Animals 36
Seeing the Mammals 37
Birds 42
Fish 46
Other Animal Life 47
PACIFIC COAST AREA 48
MAN IN OLYMPIC 51
Indians of the Olympic Peninsula 51
Exploration by sea 52
Exploration by land 54
Establishment of the Park 56
SUGGESTED READINGS 57
[Illustration: _Here is truly a living wilderness nurtured by the
ocean! The Olympic Mountains stand first in line against the
moisture-filled Pacific winds. These winds, rising and cooling on
the western slopes, drop 12 to 18 feet of rain and snow on forest
and mountain each year. Two extraordinary conditions result—a
temperate-climate rain forest and an abundance of permanent ice
bodies at comparatively low altitudes. Many rushing streams return
the water from snowfields, glaciers, and forest slopes to the sea. A
complete and endless circuit of water from ocean to land and back to
the ocean may be observed from a single mountain vantage point. One
can hardly fail to notice a water cycle of this magnitude and
completeness or to appreciate its great influence on the Olympic
scene._]
Olympic rocks tell of their having been formed of mud, sand, and lava,
uplifted from the sea; they tell of earth disturbance that alternately
submerged the land beneath the sea and elevated it into mountains. The
rocks and the shape of the land also tell of colder climates, when ice
from the north made almost a glacier island of the Olympic Mountains,
and of mountain valley glaciers which sculptured the mountains during
thousands of years. The rugged beauty of the Olympic high country,
enhanced by scores of mountain lakes, bears testimony to the former
presence of these extensive glaciers.
Only about 11,000 years have passed since the last wave of northern ice
retreated and laid bare Olympic rocks. Since then the moist and gentle
climate has favored the growth of plants and the development of soil.
The present Olympic forests and flowering meadows are products of a
succession of plantlife from the first lichens and mosses that grew on
Olympic rocks. Animals returned when the ice retreated. Plant eaters and
meat eaters, large and small, throve in abundance. When primitive man
came, he found the land and sea kindly. He easily obtained what he
needed for food, clothing, and shelter without depleting the supply.
While most of the Northwest was being explored and settled by the white
man during the 19th century, the bulk of the Olympic Peninsula remained
virtually unknown. Its rugged mountains, dense forests, and isolation
contributed to the delayed advance of modern civilization to this
northwesternmost corner of conterminous United States. The Olympic
Peninsula thus remained one of the last frontiers, and the park retains
genuine wilderness quality, even to its boundaries which descend to sea
level.
In this piece of original America the perceptive eye and mind will find
a functioning model of nature—a model of earth forces, climate, and
life.