PACIFIC NORTHWEST - Photo Ecosphere

Geographic Regions
PACIFIC NORTHWEST

GALLERY DESCRIPTION:

Rugged rocky coastline, dense old growth temperate rainforests, and high alpine coastal mountain ranges of western Oregon and Washington State

U.S. STATES:

Oregon, Washington

The snow covered craggy Olympic Mountains peak through the clouds above a coniferous forest

A Mule Deer crosses a foggy Hurricane Ridge Road

Spring snow pack at the top of Hurricane Ridge Road

An alpine forest shrowded in fog along Hurricane Ridge Road

The snow-covered Olympic Mountains represent the alpine biome of Olympic National Park, while the lush green vegetation below highlight the park's temperate forest

Moss drapes a forest tree along the Hall of Mosses Trail in the Hoh Rainforest

The temperate Hoh Rainforest festooned with mosses and ferns

A truly verdant environment along the Hall of Mosses Trail in the Hoh Rainforest

A Hairy Woodpecker at work on a tree trunk

A mother Mallard Duck with young ducklings

A Red Slug at home on a fallen log along side fungi

Clovers, ferns, mosses, and mushrooms pepper a fallen log

A denizen of the Pacific Northwest temperate rainforest, a Banana Slug makes its way over a peice of fallen tree trunk

Western Mountain Maple leaf

Pacific Fairy-Slipper

Olympic Coast

Sea Stacks at First Beach along the Olympic Peninsula coast

Western Gull

The rocky coastline of the Oregon Pacific Coast

Overlook view of Otter Crest along the Oregon Pacific Coast

A scenic, but turbulent ocean coastline

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Looking out over the Pacific Ocean at dusk

A large colony of breeding Common Murres clustered together on a large rock at sunset

Brandt's Cormorants perched on a sea stack rock

Sunset at Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Purple & Ochre Sea Stars along with closed Giant Green Anemone are exposed during low tide

A bed of Gooseneck Barnacles and Pacific Blue Mussels

A Sunflower Starfish in the Intertidal Pools of Oregon's Pacific coast

Harbor Seals resting on a kelp covered rock shore at low tide

A Harbor Seal mom with pup

Ochre Sea Star

A Giant Green Anemone fully open in a tide pool

A Purple Sea Urchin blanketed by Kelp Seaweed

Giant Green Anemone in a tide pool

A bright green Algae grows along the rocky Pacific coast

Devil's Churn

Green Algae

Waves crash along the rocky Pacific coast

Sea Lions take refuge from a turbulent sea

Sea Lion Rookery

Tough-Leaf Iris flowers are also referred to as the Oregon Iris

Glaucous-Winged Gull

Glaucous-Winged Gull

Black Oystercatcher

Black Oystercatcher

Double-Crested Cormorant

Double-Crested Cormorants nesting

Moss covers the marble rock outside of the Oregon Caves

Flowstone cave formation

Dripstone cave formation

Oregon Cave is a solution cave that has formed out of marble rock

Drapery hanging from the ceiling of the Spiral Stairs section of Oregon Caves

Drapery cave formation in a section of Oregon Caves referred to as Niagara Falls

Column cave formation

Miller's Chapel cave room in Oregon Caves

Flowstone and Drapery cave formations

Disolved deposits of the calcite mineral collect in clusters on the floor of Oregon Caves

Cave Cricket

Drapery cave formations

A cave formation of drapery known as Paradise Lost

Water drips down from drapery and flowstone into a small pool below at Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost cave formation

Exposed marble rock, formed when calcite mineral was subjected to intense heat and pressure deep underground

White and semi-transparent marble dripstone formations called Soda Straws hang from the Ghost Room ceiling

Marble Soda Straws and Flowstone in the Ghost Room

Marble flowstone and drapery formation

Marble flowstone and drapery formation

Peat Moss covers marble rock, providing a radiant verdant landscape

Little Brown Jug plant leaves

The Roth Forest Snail (E. Forest Rothii) - aka Traveling Sideband Snail - is endemic to the Oregon Caves habitat

Leafy Pea flowering plant

The Pacific Rhododendron is a flowering tree found along coastal mountain slopes

Spreading Phlox

Deer Fern

Looking out over the valleys and peaks of the forested Siskiyou Mountains

Pilot Rock (5,771 feet) in the Soda Mountain Wilderness

Pilot Rock

Western Corydalis flowers (purple-pink) and Yellow Bush Lupines

Cornflower, a native Eurasian flower species

Cornflower

Cornflower

Mountain Spiraea

A Yellow Bumble Bee on a Western Corydalis flower

Seed bud

Giant Red Indian Paintbrush (aka Scarlet Paintbrush)

Nelson's Larkspur

A pair of Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies

Woodland Skipper moth

Large Marble butterfly

Sitka Valerian flower

Drone Fly collecting nectar from a Variable or Bicolor Linanthus flower

Spear-Leaf Arnica flowers

Western Grass-Leaf Goldenrod

Narcissus Bulb Fly drawing nectar from a Showy Beardtongue (aka Royal Beardtongue) flower

Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee

Pale Swallowtail butterfly on Shrubby Beardtongue (aka Bush Beardtongue) flowers

Fly drawing nectar from a Variable or Bicolor Linanthus flower

Wild Rose bush and flower

Western Red Columbine

English Holly plant

Wolf Lichen covers the trunk of a Douglas Fir tree

Pine trees tower above the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail

Pilot Rock, viewed along the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail

Pilot Rock

Looking up at the old, volcanic rock edges of Pilot Rock

Side of Pilot Rock

Columnar rock and joint structures of Pilot Rock formed out of magma from a past volcanic eruption

Western Fence Lizard

Douglas Firs and Mountain Hemlocks cover the hilly and mountaineous terrain of southern Oregon

At the edge of the Klamath and Siskiyou mountains

Mount Shasta viewed from the side of Pilot Rock in southern Oregon

An evergreen and mountaineous landscape spreads out where the Cascade, Siskiyou, and Klamath mountains meet in southwest Oregon

Mount Shasta viewed from the southern end of the Cascade Range in Oregon

Cows grazing in a valley with snow covered mountains beyond

Steller's Jay

A snowy Wizard Island, sitting inside Crater Lake, rises 767 feet above the lake's surface

Crater Lake

Crater Lake, with a snowy surrounding landscape, formed 7,700 years ago with the eruption and collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama

The steep banks of the caldera, which now houses Crater Lake, rise up to 1,000 feet above the lake's surface

Wizard Island reflects off the still surface of Crater Lake with the snow covered Hillman Peak (8,151 feet) rising above to the left

Wizard Island (6,940 feet) sits straight ahead in Crater Lake (6,173 feet) with The Watchman (8,013 feet) peak and Hillman Peak (8,151 feet) off to the left and Llao Rock (8,049 feet) beyond to the right

Crater Lake on a clear late afternoon in the spring

Looking out over the magnificent blue of Crater Lake

Late afternoon sun hits Mountain Helmlocks and the rocky rim over Crater Lake

At an elevation of 6,173 feet and a depth of 1,943 feet, the brilliantly blue high altitude Crater Lake is the deepest in the United States

Mountain Helmlocks and snow on the steep slopes over Crater Lake

Snow covered slopes of Wizard Island and the cliffs over Crater Lake

Garfield Peak (8,054 feet) and Dutton Cliff (8,106 feet) beyond, along the rim of Crater Lake

Toketee Falls viewed from high above

Water casades off of moss-covered boulders just below Watson Falls

Susan Creek Falls

Susan Creek

Grotto Falls

Underneath Grotto Falls

Western Red Columbine

Western Red Columbine

Tough-Leaf Iris (aka Oregon Iris)

Sunlight struggles to break through an overcast sky to light the snow-capped Mount Bailey (8.376 feet) on the banks of Diamond Lake

The jagged spire-like peak of Mount Thielsen, encrusted in snow and ice, rises to an elevation of 9,183 feet

The Three Sisters from left to right - South Sister, Middle Sister, "Black Hump" Broken Top, and North Sister - all top over 10,000 feet in elevation at their summits

Mount Bachelor (far left) and South Sister (middle), rise to an elevation of 9,068 and 10,363 feet, respectively

From left to right, South Sister (10,358 feet), Middle Sister (10,047 feet), Broken Top Mountain (9,175 feet), and North Sister (10,085 feet) rise up from the Three Sisters Wilderness area

Looking out from Lava Lands, Mount Bachelor is barely visible in the background

Lava field with Pine Trees along the Trail of Molten Land

Lava Butte is a cinder cone rising 500 feet over a lava flow

A clear, calm morning over East Lake

Paulina Peak (7,984 feet) casts a broken reflection over East Lake (6,371 feet)

A view of East Lake and part of the Newberry Caldera from the Crater Rim Trail

The forested slopes of the Central Pumice Cone sit between East and Paulina Lakes in the center of Newberry Volcano's caldera

Looking out from Cinder Hill Viewpoint along the Crater Rim Trail

Newberry Volcano is considered to be the largest volcano in the Cascade Range

A Clark's Nutcracker perched on the branch of a Whitebark Pine tree

Cliff Paintbrush

Davidson's Beardtongue (aka Timberline Beardtongue)

Pursh's Milk-Vetch flower growing on a hillside covered in volcanic rocks

Dwarf Purple Monkey-flower growing on a rocky volcanic slope

Small plant with silvery-hairy texture grows from the volcanic soil beneath

Wildflower growing from volanic rock

Pursh's Milk-Vetch (aka Woolly Pod Locoweed) flower

Western Round-Leaf Violet flower growing in volcanic rock

A boulder of Rhyolite Igneous Rock

A pool of water collected along the Big Obsidian Flow

Big Obsidian Flow, created during a volcanic eruption approximately 1,300 years ago

Looking out from the Big Obsidian Flow

Obsidian volcanic rock

Obsidian volcanic rock

Volcanic rock in the Big Obsidian Flow

Obsidian igneous rock

Obsidian is shiny, dark volcanic glass rock produced when lava cools quickly allowing for minimal crystal growth

Obsidian volcanic glass rock

Obsidian volcanic glass rock

Volcanic rock in the Big Obsidian Flow

Cooled volcanic lava rock - gray pumice containing larger gas bubble pockets

Big Obsidian Flow pumice rock

Close up of volanic pumice rock in the Newberry Volcano caldera

Volcanic rock in the Big Obsidian Flow

California Tortoiseshell butterfly

California Tortoiseshell butterfly (or Satyr Butterfly)

Boulders of obsidian igneous rock on the Big Obsidian Flow

A collection of large Obsidian rocks

Obsidian volcanic glass rock cluster on the Big Obsidian Flow

A pile of dark, shiny Obsidian glass volcanic rock on top of the Big Obsidian Flow

A Whitebark Pine tree grows out of volanic rock on the Big Obsidian Flow

Jagged formations of volanic rock reaching up from a past eruption on the composite shield-shaped Newberry Volcano

Big Obsidian Flow

Big Obsidian Flow with Paulina Peak beyond

Big Obsidian Flow with Paulina Peak beyond

Paulina Lake with the snow capped Mount Bachelor (left) and South Sister (right) peaks beyond

Lava River Cave

A river of liquid lava once flowed through the Lava River Cave

Formations on the ceiling of the Lava River Cave

Lava River Cave wall

Piles of sediment accumulated on the lava tube floor form a "Sand Garden"

Sand Gardens form over time when water dripping through cracks from the lava tube ceiling above carry dirt and rock sediment to the lava tube floor

Davidson's Beardtongue (aka Timberline Beardtongue)

Whitebark Pine needles and pollen cone

Whitebark Pine needles and pollen cones

Map Lichen growing on rock is a type of crust lichen

A segment of the Paulina Falls

The twin falls of Paulina Falls spills 80 feet over harden pumice and ash rock at the edge of the Newberry Caldera along Paulina Creek

Paulina Creek Falls

Wolf Lichen growing on the bark of a pine tree

A lava cast formation of where an old growth tree once stood

Shrubs, flowers, and trees grow out of a lava flow where an old-growth forest once stood

A curved trunk of a pine tree growing out of a past lava flow

The twisted trunk of a tree growing in a lava flow is the product of a survival mechanism to distribute water and nutrients evenly within a harsh growing environment

From left to right, South Sister (10,363 feet), "Black Hump" Broken Top, Middle Sister (10,052 feet), and North Sister (10,090 feet)

Mount Bachelor viewed from the center of the Northwest Rift Zone in the Lava Cast Forest

Lava cast tree mold left from a past tree trunk that was encased in volcanic stone

Lava cast tree mold

Lava cast formation in the Lava Cast Forest

Rock Penstemon (aka Showy or Royal Beardtongue)

Ponderosa Pine forest with flowering shrubs growing below

The Crooked River winds its way through a canyon between towering tuff rock

A Golden Eagle sits on a large nest perched high up on a small rock ledge of a cliff face

A Mule Deer glances through brush

A swollen river fed by melting mountain snow

South Falls (177 feet) on the Trail of Ten Falls

South Falls (177 feet) on the Trail of Ten Falls

Lower South Falls (93 feet)

South Falls (177 feet) viewed from the north on the Trail of Ten Falls

Late afternoon sunlight hits the trees surrounding Middle North Falls (106 feet)

Looking up at Double Falls (178 feet)

North Falls (136 feet) cascades out of the dense coniferous northwest forest

East side of Mount Hood (11,250 feet)

Mount Hood (11,250 feet)

Mount Hood, a stratovolcano of the Cascade mountain range, dominates the northwest Oregon shy

At 620 feet high, Multnomah Falls is the second highest year-round waterfall in the United States

Multnomah Falls (620 feet)

Looking east, the Columbia River and its gorge divides Washington State to the north from Oregon to the south

Red Rose

A yellow-orange colored Rose starts its bloom

A pink Rose being pollinated by a bumble bee

Red rose variety

A yellow variety of Rose

Clouds hang over the summit of Mount St. Helens (8,366 feet) with the tree-less landscape devasted by the volcano's 1980 eruption spread out below

Mount St Helens' growing lava dome masked by clouds with the rim of the volcano's crater in the clear above

Patches of snow litter the barren landscape around Mount St. Helens with the snow covered Mount Adams in the distance

Rimrock Lake

Clear Creek Falls

Pine trees cover a glaciated valley along the White Pass Scenic Byway

Rock Penstemon growing on the edge of Clear Creek Falls Lookout

Mount Rainier rises up 14,411 feet, the highest peak in the Cascade Range

Columnar rock formation of the palisades are made of Dacite volcanic rock

At 14,410 feet in elevation, Mount Rainier is the highest peak in the volcanically active Cascade Range

Looking down towards the Paradise area from the lower slopes of Mount Rainier

A hanging glacier on the slopes of Mount Rainier

Far below, Paradise River carves its ways through mountain peaks surrounding Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier (14,410 feet)

Cascade Mountain Range

Snow melt stream in a glacially formed u-shaped valley below the slopes of Mount Rainier

A darker colored Red Fox

Red Fox on the lookout

A Red Fox yawns

The 268-foot Snoqualmie Falls waterfall lit up by the setting sun

A rainbow appears next to the cascading Snoqualmie Falls

Snoqualmie Falls

Mule Deer

Snowshoe Hare

Clouds and fog start to break up over the San Juan Islands

Western Gull in flight over Rosario Strait

Morning sun radiates through clouds and fog over the San Juan Islands

Morning clouds and fog breaking up over the San Juan Islands

San Juan Islands

Pacific Madrone and pine trees growing on a rocky island

MacKaye Harbor on Lopez Island

Woods Rose

Flesh Fly on a Woods Rose flower

Subalpine Buttercup

Common Madia (aka Showy Tarweed) wildflower

Crown Brodiaea wildflower

Pale Agoseris (aka Mountain-Dandelion)

Fool's Onion flower buds start to bloom amongst thick blades of wild grass

Woods Rose

Woods Rose

Reindeer Lichen

Flowering trees drapped with Spanish Moss hanging over branches and ferns carpeting the island forest floor

Rabbit's-foot Grass

Gnome-Plant flowers

Crown Brodiaea wildflower

Musk Thistle plant

An oak fern

Deptford Pink (aka Mountain Pink) flower, native to Eurasia

Mule Deer on alert

Looking out over the unique sandstone rock formations at Iceberg Point

Veins of white quartz through sandstone at Iceberg Point

Green algae clumped together in a tide pool at Iceberg Point

Logs of trees collected on the rocky shore of Iceberg Point

Grasses and flowers growing on a hill out at Iceberg Point

Iceberg Point

Iceberg Point

Sandstone rock ledges over the Pacific Ocean at Iceberg Point

Bull Kelp floating in the waters off of Iceberg Point

Curly Cup Gumweed flowers

Brittle Prickly Pear Cactus

Bluff Lettuce succulent plant

Woods Rose

Deptford Pink (aka Mountain Pink) flower, native to Eurasia

Pink Nodding Wild Onion wildflower

Pine cone and needles

Nine-Spotted Lady Beetle

Pale Agoseris (aka Mountain-Dandelion)

Forested trail out to Iceberg Point

Watmough Bay

Watmough Head at Watmough Bay

Pacific Silver Fir and Western Hemlock trees grow tall over an island forest covered in dense vegetation

Pale Agoseris (aka Mountain-Dandelion)

Shark Reef Park

North Fork of the Nooksack River

Weestern Hemlock trees line a stream running down into the North Fork of the Nooksack River

Nooksack Falls

Nooksack Falls

A think subalpine coniferous forest along Mount Baker Scenic Byway, a National Forest Scenic Byway

Clouds and snow covered hills reflect off of a lake near Heather Meadows

Avalanche Lily at Heather Meadows

Avalanche Lily at Heather Meadows

Douglas Fir trees in the north Cascade Mountains

Snow lingers on the high peaks of the north Cascade Mountains in late June

Clouds hover over the jagged, rocky peaks of the north Cascades

Clouds swirling around the high peaks of the north Cascades

Subalpine meets the alpine peaks of the north Cascade Mountains at the end of the Mount Baker Scenic Highway

Douglas Fir trees grow on lower subalpine, rocky slopes in the north Cascade Mountains

Sun setting over the north Cascade Mountains

Sun setting on the North Cascades in late June

North Cascades

Mount Baker peaks above a streak of clouds at Artist Point

Mount Baker, an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc

Mount Baker peaking above a thin layer of clouds at sunset

Clouds surround the lower slopes of Mount Baker rising to an elevation of 10,781 feet

Clouds lit up by the setting sun along the snowy slopes of the north Cascade Mountains

American Pika

Watermelon Snow is a result of a red pigment from algae that thrives on cold snowy surfaces

A blue pool of melted snow collects in a valley just above Heather Meadows

Mount Baker (10,781 feet)

North Cascades with Douglas Fir trees dominating the subalpine region below

Winter snow lingers on the peaks of the North Cascades into late spring/early summer

Orange Daylily and white daisies along the Skagit River connecting Diablo Lake upstream with Gorge Lake downstream

Orange Daylily

A carpet of Peat Moss

Deer Fern growing from a moist rock crevasse

Familiar Bluet damselfly

Yellow Pond Lily

Oxeye Daisies overlooking Diablo Lake and Davis Peak (7,051 feet) beyond

The milky turquoise waters of Diablo Lake is a product of glacial flour, fine rock particles ground up by glaciers

Diablo Lake with snow coating the peaks of Colonial (left - 7,771 feet) and Pyramid (right - 7,182 feet)

Rock face rises above Washington Pass

Washington Pass

The craggy peaks along Washington Pass

High up above Washington Pass

Washington Pass

Fog swirls around rocky peaks along the North Cascades Highway

Lush green slopes on the mountains along Casade River Road

Glacial melt stream

A glacier hanging off the jagged rocky peaks of the North Casades

One of more than 300 glaciers in the park, this glacier rest atop a rock ledge

North Cascades

A glacier spills out of the fog amidst the craggy peaks of the North Cascades

Hanging glacier

The temperate rainforest of the North Casades

The cascading water of Newhalem Creek

Newhalem Creek

Foxglove flowers, native to Europe, thrive in the moist temperate climate of the Pacifc Northwest United States

Ferns and mosses cover the temperate forest

The night skyline of an urban jungle viewed from Kerry Park

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