While Douglas Fir, Hemlock and Western Red Cedar make up the climax forest in the Olympic National Park, Alders are a significant presence in newly disturbed areas and along river banks. I thought this was an interesting stand … seemingly sorted by height. Taken along the Elwha river near the current ‘end of the road’.
The Enchanted Valley trail runs up the East Fork Quinault in the Olympic National Park. This is a rain forest valley and the forest is primarily Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock. Along the river bottom there are willows, maples and lots of alders. The image below is a small group that is in the middle of the stream bed … and likely to be washed away with the next big storm.
These two images (taken within 20 miles of each other) show a dramatic difference in growing environments. The one above shows a stand of alders in marshy bottomland … I would expect their roots are constantly wet. The one below shows an evergreen growing in a rocky area that would certainly not provide any water during summer months. The adaptive ability of trees to grow wherever there is a chance to put down roots is amazing.
I was out walking in a wooded area and past a small pond. I was quite a ways from the pond … it was sitting in the bottom of a glacial karst (a depression that was left behind when a block of ice was buried and later melted). I saw these two ducks sitting on a log and liked what I could see. After zooming in with a tight crop, I liked the reflections and ripples a lot.
Just down the trail from the pond, I saw these alder (below) and liked the contrast between them and the evergreens in the background.
