The underlying rock of the Central Coast Range are the igneous rocks from the Siletz River Volcanics of the Paleocene age.[3] It is estimated that this rock formation is up to 16 miles (26km) thick.[3] These formations consist mainly of pillow basalt, large lava flows, tuff-breccia, and sills.[3] This part of the mountains are approximately 50 to 60 million years old.[3] It is theorized that the source of these lava flows came from oceanic islands that formed over a tectonic hotspot.[3] The entire Oregon Coast Range overlies a convergent tectonic margin that interacts with the Juan de Fuca Plate that is being sub-ducted beneath the North America tectonic plate.[4] This is the Cascadia subduction zone that has experienced uplift for several million years.[5] Currently it is part of a large forearc basin that extends for much of the entire Coast Range on a north-south alignment.[3] Parts of the upper portions of the range contain continental margindeposits from the early Eocene to Paleocene age.[3] Portions of this include marine fossils in the geologic record.[3] Sandstone and shale are also present in the sections of the mountains, with thickness up to 7,875ft (2,400m).[3] In the southern part of the range the bedrock is overlaid by Eocene age turbidite sediments and river sediment.[3] The active tectonic forces have created many faults and folds in the range.[5] Additionally, erosion is a major landscape-shaping force for the range. Both heavy rainfall and the resulting landslides have worked to erode and shape the mountains.[6] Much of the landscape is dominated by steep slopes and drainages that are deeply cut into the hillsides from the erosion.[7] Unlike many areas in North America, the mountain range did not see glaciations during the Pleistocene age.[5]
The Oregon Coast Range is home to over 50 mammals, 100 species of birds, and nearly 30 reptiles or amphibians that spent a significant portion of their life cycle in the mountains.[8]
Birds living in the Central Coast Range include a variety of smaller and larger bird species.[7] These include winter wrens, chestnut-backed chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, varied thrushes, several swallow species, red crossbills, evening grosbeaks, brown creepers, olive-sided flycatchers, Hammond's flycatchers, gray jays, western wood-pewees, and western tanagers.[7][8] Some of the larger species in the range include the red-breasted sapsucker, common ravens, peregrine falcons, the pileated woodpecker, turkey vultures, wood duck, common nighthawks, and the red-tailed hawk.[7][8] Birds in lower numbers include Vaux's swifts, the endangered spotted owl, bald eagles, the downy woodpecker, hairy woodpeckers, the pine siskin, the hermit warbler, Pacific-slope flycatchers, golden-crowned kinglets, and ruffed grouse.[7] One of the more common avian wildlife is the American dipper, which live mainly near rivers and streams.[9] These birds build nests from six to nine inches (229mm) in diameter out of moss.[9]
The central coast range is also home to some larger animals such as deer, elk, bobcat, and bear.[10] Bear are black bear while deer are mule and black-tailed deer species. Some additional mammals are mountain beaver, coyote, mink, river otter, mountain lion, the common raccoon, common porcupine, brush rabbit, and skunk.[8]
The coast range is inhabited by eleven different species of bats, and they account for nearly 20% of all the mammal species in the range.[11] Species of bats include the Yuma myotis, silver-haired bat, big brown bat, hoary bat, and the long-eared myotis.[8][11] Other mammals living in the central range include beavers, creeping voles, long-tailed voles, vagrant shrews, deer mice, Pacific jumping mice, western pocket gopher, marsh shrew, shrew-mole, coast-mole, ermine, northern flying squirrel, and Townsend's chipmunk among others.[10][12]
Amphibians include, but are not limited to, rough-skinned newts, northwestern salamanders, western red-backed salamander, Coastal tailed frog, Coastal giant salamander, red-legged frog, southern torrent salamander, and Ensatina.[12] Additional species include northwestern garter snake, northern alligator lizard, Pacific tree frog, western pond turtles, gopher snake, ringneck snake, and western fence lizards.[8] Fish species in the Central Coast Range include chinook salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout, and the threatened species coho salmon.[13]
A large section of the range is covered by the Siuslaw National Forest. Most of the range is forested and mainly within the western hemlock vegetation zone with the overstory of the forest dominated by red alder, western hemlock, western cedar, bigleaf maple, and Douglas-fir trees.[7] In these forested sections, trees include Sitka spruce, western redcedar, Douglas-fir, and western hemlock.[14] The understory of the forest areas contain vine maple, Oregon grape, salmonberry, huckleberry, and sword fern to name a few.[7] Other plants that grow in the region are Pacific madrone, salmonberry, Pacific silver fir, bracken fern, manzanita, thimble-berry, Pacific dogwood, bitter cherry, snowberry, some rose species, and cascara.[8][14][15] Additionally, various grass, sedge, and moss species are some of the other plant life growing in the mountain range.[12]
Arthropods include various spiders, millipedes, collembolans, beetles, and a variety of centipedes.[14][15]
The climate of the mountains is of the mild maritime variety.[7] It is characterized by cool dry summers followed by mild and wet winters.[7] Most precipitation falls in the form of rain, with snow during the winter months at the higher elevations.[7] Annual precipitation varies from 60 to 120inches (150–300cm), with more in the higher elevations.[7] The average high temperature in January is 36.3°F (2.4°C), and the average high in July is 61.9°F (16.6°C) with temperature also varying by elevation.[7]
Peaks
Snow-covered Marys Peak.
All peaks in the range over 3,000 feet (910m) in elevation.
The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at 7,965 ft (2,428 m); however, the eastern slopes rise out of Puget Sound from sea level and the western slopes are separated from the Pacific Ocean by the low-lying 20 to 35 km wide Pacific Ocean coastal plain. The western slopes are the wettest place in the 48 contiguous states. Most of the mountains are protected within the bounds of Olympic National Park and adjoining segments of the Olympic National Forest.
The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast Ranges, the Klamath Mountains have a varied geology, with substantial areas of serpentinite and marble, and a climate characterized by moderately cold winters with very heavy snowfall and warm, very dry summers with limited rainfall, especially in the south. As a consequence of the geology and soil types, the mountains harbor several endemic or near-endemic trees, forming one of the largest collections of conifers in the world. The mountains are also home to a diverse array of fish and animal species, including black bears, large cats, owls, eagles, and several species of Pacific salmon. Millions of acres in the mountains are managed by the United States Forest Service. The northernmost and largest sub-range of the Klamath Mountains are the Siskiyou Mountains.
The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal subrange of the Klamath Mountains, and located in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately 100 miles (160 km) from east of Crescent City, California, northeast along the north side of the Klamath River into Josephine and Jackson counties in Oregon. The mountain range forms a barrier between the watersheds of the Klamath River to the south and the Rogue River to the north. Accordingly, much of the range is within the Rogue River – Siskiyou and Klamath national forests, and the Pacific Crest Trail follows a portion of the crest of the Siskiyous.
The Chugach National Forest is a 6,908,540-acre (27,958 km2) United States National Forest in south central Alaska. Covering portions of Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula and the Copper River Delta, it was formed in 1907 from part of a larger forest reserve. The Chugach includes extensive shorelines, glaciers, forests and rivers, much of which is untouched by roads or trails. It hosts numerous bird, mammal and marine species, including extensive shorebird habitat and a bald eagle population larger than the contiguous 48 states combined. Human industry in the forest includes extensive tourism and some mining and oil and gas operations.
Cascade Head is a headland and 270-acre (110 ha) UNESCO biosphere reserve and United States Forest Service Experimental Forest. It is situated 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Portland, Oregon on the Oregon Coast between Lincoln City and Neskowin. Cascade Head Preserve is a Nature Conservancy Selected Site.
Drift Creek Wilderness is a 5,798-acre (2,346 ha) wilderness area in the Siuslaw National Forest on the Oregon Coast. It was created in 1984, along with two other small wilderness areas in the forest - Cummins Creek Wilderness and Rock Creek Wilderness. The elevation of Drift Creek ranges from 150 to 1,500 feet, and is characterized by long steep slopes with broken and uneven terrain. Drift Creek was named for the accumulations of driftwood on its banks.
The Cummins Creek Wilderness is a 9,300-acre (3,800 ha) wilderness area in the Siuslaw National Forest within the Oregon Coast. It is one of three wilderness areas created in the Siuslaw in 1984, along with Drift Creek and Rock Creek. It is "dedicated to preserve in a wilderness state, the last remaining virgin stands of Sitka spruce, western hemlock and Douglas-fir, in Oregon's coast lands." Cummins Creek and nearby Cummins Ridge are named for F.L. Cummins, an early homesteader.
The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, contains peaks as high as 3,710 feet (1,131 m) for Rogers Peak. Forests in these mountains are considered to be some of the most productive timber land in the world. The Central Oregon Coast Range is directly south of this section with the Southern Oregon Coast Range beyond the central range.
Trask Mountain in the Northern Oregon Coast Range, is the tallest mountain in Yamhill County, Oregon. It is located in the northwest corner of the county. Evidently the mountain was named for Elbridge Trask who settled west of the peak in Tillamook County in 1852.
The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean. This north-south running range extends over 200 miles (320 km) from the Columbia River in the north on the border of Oregon and Washington, south to the middle fork of the Coquille River. It is 30 to 60 miles wide and averages around 1,500 feet (460 m) in elevation above sea level. The coast range has three main sections, a Northern, Central, and Southern.
The Southern Oregon Coast Range is the southernmost section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in the southwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States, roughly between the Umpqua River and the middle fork of the Coquille River, beyond which are the Klamath Mountains. To the east is the Umpqua Valley and to the west the Pacific Ocean. This approximately 55-mile (89 km)-long mountain range contains mountains as high as 3,547 feet (1,081 m) for Bone Mountain. The mountains are known locally in the Roseburg area as the Callahan Mountains, or simply as The Callahans.
The Siuslaw National Forest is a national forest in western Oregon in the United States. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes.
Oregon is 295 miles (475 km) north to south at longest distance, and 395 miles (636 km) east to west. With an area of 98,381 square miles (254,810 km2), Oregon is slightly larger than the United Kingdom. It is the ninth largest state in the United States. Oregon's highest point is the summit of Mount Hood, at 11,249 feet (3,429 m), and its lowest point is the sea level of the Pacific Ocean along the Oregon Coast. Oregon's mean elevation is 3,300 feet (1,006 m). Crater Lake National Park, the state's only national park, is the site of the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet (592 m). Oregon claims the D River as the shortest river in the world, though the state of Montana makes the same claim of its Roe River. Oregon is also home to Mill Ends Park, the smallest park in the world at 452 square inches (0.29 m2).
The Coast Range ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and California. It stretches along the Pacific Coast from the tip of the Olympic Peninsula in the north to the San Francisco Bay in the south, including Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, and the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington, the entire length of the Oregon Coast, and the Northern California Coast. Named for the Coast Range mountains, it encompasses the lower elevations of the Olympic Mountains, the Oregon Coast Range, the Californian North Coast Ranges, and surrounding lowlands.
The Ecology of the North Cascades is heavily influenced by the high elevation and rain shadow effects of the mountain range. The North Cascades is a section of the Cascade Range from the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River in Washington, United States, to the confluence of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers in British Columbia, Canada, where the range is officially called the Cascade Mountains but is usually referred to as the Canadian Cascades. The North Cascades Ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion in the Commission for Environmental Cooperation's classification system.
Ecotourism in the United States is commonly practiced in protected areas such as national parks and nature reserves. The principles and behaviors of ecotourism are slowly becoming more widespread in the United States; for example, hotels in some regions strive to be more sustainable.
The fauna of the State of California may be the most diverse in the United States of America. Of the Lower 48 conterminous states, California has the greatest diversity in climate, terrain and geology in general. The state's six life zones are the lower Sonoran (desert); upper Sonoran ; transition ; and the Canadian, Hudsonian, and Arctic zones, comprising California's highest elevations. California’s diverse geography gives rise to dozens of different ecosystems, each of which has its own unique native plants and animals. California is a huge state, the 3rd largest in the U.S., and can range broadly in habitat type.
Elliott Corbett Memorial State Recreation Site is a state park along the south shore of Blue Lake Crater in Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. The park is named in honor of Elliott R. Corbett II, who was killed while serving in the United States Army during World War II. It includes 63 acres (25 ha) of wilderness land with very few park facilities. Corbett State Park is administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
Todd Lake is a natural lake near the crest of the Cascade Range in central Oregon in the United States. The lake covers 45 acres (18 ha). It is named in honor of John Y. Todd, an early settler in Central Oregon. Today, the lake and surrounding forest is managed by the United States Forest Service as part of the Deschutes National Forest. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife regularly stocks the lake with brook trout. There is a day-use area and a rustic campground located on the west shore of the lake. In the summer, Todd Lake is a popular outdoor recreation site for picnicking, fishing, hiking, and nature viewing. In the winter, trails in the Todd Lake area are used for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
↑ Byrne, John V. An Erosional Classification for the Northern Oregon Coast, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 54, No. 3. (Sep., 1964), pp. 329-335.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 McGarigal, Kevin; William C. McComb (August 1995). "Relationships Between Landscape Structure and Breeding Birds in the Oregon Coast Range". Ecological Monographs. The Ecological Society of America. 65 (3): 235–260. doi:10.2307/2937059. JSTOR2937059.
1 2 Macnab, James A. Biotic Aspection in the Coast Range Mountains of Northwestern Oregon, Ecological Monographs, Vol. 28, No. 1. (Jan., 1958), pp. 21-54.
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