Where the coastal mountains meet the sea and ancient temperate forest gives way to the intertidal zone, Pacific Rim National Park is a place of sublime beaches, giant ferns, thick moss, towering spruces, eagles soaring and the ocean stretching as far as the eye can see.
The south western coast of Canada positively drips with water, and abounds with plant life, adding a new meaning to the word rainforest. This extends from the Pacific Ocean north to the boreal forest, Arctic tundra and wetlands, south to the dry forests and steppes of California, and east to the crest of the Coast Mountains, right up the slopes to alpine tundra and glaciers. The key ingredient is rain – lots of it. Pacific Rim receives annual precipitation of about 300 centimetres, comfortably more than the 250 centimetres a rainforest requires.
Much of the forest consists of twisted and stunted trees reaching out from a mass of thick, wet moss, drenched in rain that collects in pools. Yet elsewhere rise trees so huge, tall and ancient that they dwarf the imagination. This is a world of vivid green moss, arching ferns, and a mass of plants so thick that it's virtually impossible to see the soil beneath it. What the rainforest looks like in any given location depends on the soil, topography, proximity to the ocean, soil moisture and the length of time it has been left undisturbed – temperate rainforests pass through various stages: mature, old growth and ancient old growth.
Today, the awe-inspiring coastal landscapes of the Pacific Rim region still remain integral to the livelihood and heritage of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations people.
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