Forest Report from Tacoma, Washington, U.S.A.

Written by the students of Meeker Middle School

Class or age : Internet Class

Name of Forest :

Carbon River Rainforest

Our field trip at the entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park entrance to the Carbon River Rain Forest begins with the following words, "You are entering a rain forest preserved exactly as it was before non-native Americans or European man settled this valey. This forest is unique because it is the only true inland rain forest in the continental United States.

As you follow the self-guiding rain forest trail, which is one-tenth mile long and returns to this spot, look for similarities and differences between this forest and other forests you know. Take a few minutes and let the numbered stakes help you discover this Carbon River rain forest and and see why it is a special kind of forest."

Carbon River Rain Forest Trail

The evergreen canopy part of the rainforest is described at several stops. Several sixth grade students write about the Western Hemlock, Sitka Sprice, Red Alder, and the Douglas-fir.

(Written by Jane R.)
The ground at stop 3 feels different from where I stood a minute ago. It feels very wet and gooshy. A minute ago it was very dry and plain. I looked up into the crowns of the trees and saw clouds and sky. Most of the trees around me are Western Hemlock. That is because it is one of the few that can tolerate deep shade.

Western Hemlock growing in mud.
Pine cones connect to
the fine thin leaves.

(Written by Donavan H.)
Sitka spruce is a very valuable timber tree of the Pacific coast of North America. You usually find it on the Pacific Coast.

(Written by Tom M.)
The tree I'm looking at is a Western hemlock. This tree really took a 180 degree turn. The way the tree got this way was probably when it was a seedling a larger tree probably fell on it because it was too weak to hold itself or maybe the wind blew it over. The tree that fell over rotted away and is part of the soil. Every branch of the tree is covered with moss as it shows in my picture.

Western Hemlock growing with a
180 degree turn in its trunk.

(Written by Sochui K.)
At stop 12 was a large Sitka Spruce and a smaller Western Hemlock growing side by side. They were trying to reach the sunlight. They can only see the part of the sunlight and in order of them to survive they have to grow fast as they can. When they grow fast, under intense competition, they only grow few side branches. The side branches usually die and mostly fall off.

Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock

(Written by Amie B.)
In the rain forest there is a very smelly place. That is Stop #4.
Stop Four is full of skunk cabbage. Skunk cabbage smells very nasty in spring when the leaves uncurl. That's how it got its name.

Skunk cabbage has very large leaves. They also have a very thick stem. They grow in very wet places like marshy areas or rain forests. Lots of insects are attracted to them because of their smell. This helps with pollination between plants.

Skunk Cabbage

Devil's club grows in thickets and is prickly-stemmed with very big leaves.
Salmonberry is much the same. Early explorers that visited this valley must have had a difficult time with both. Imagine having to crawl or crash through this kind of underbrush, or slosh through the mucky soil.

Salmonberry and Devil's Club

(Written by Nick C.)
The landslide occurred in 1972. Heavy rainfall started the pretty big landslide.
Wood was scattered everywhere. Trees fell. In front of me there are bright green ferns everywhere. The ground is very damp. This is a very interesting place where rock, mud, and tree debris has partly buried some of the trees.

Landslide

(Written by Janee S.)
Stop #13 was close to the end of the rain forest trail. In that area there were ferns everywhere. Sword ferns are the biggest.
They have very pointy leaves like saw teeth. The Deer fern is medium size. That fern looks like it has ferns growing on it. The Oak fern is the smallest. It has one stem, but three leaves are coming out from it.

Ferns

(Written by Cathy M.)
When I first walked into the rain forest, almost everything was covered in moss. In front of me the moss has covered a whole stump. Most people usually don't pay much attention to moss, so they don't see all the different kinds. If you look at the moss carefully they are very interesting.

The Moss Carpet

Stop #17 is the end of the rain forest trail. A Douglas-fir is blown down by the wind and gives me an easy look at the root system of a tree. It's unbelievable how shallow the roots are, but the width is enormous! That's the only way it can stay up and balance. The roots don't go very deep because most of the water and nutrients are at the surface of theforest floor.

The root system of a tree