Coast Range (EPA ecoregion)

Coast Range ecoregion
Coast Range ecoregion
	Temperate coniferous forests
Borders	List North Cascades (77); Klamath Mountains (78);
Geography
Country	United States
States	Washington; Oregon; California;
Coordinates	43°00′N 123°48′W / 43.0°N 123.8°W

The Coast Range ecoregion is a

lowlands.^[1]^[2]

The low

Douglas-fir blanketed the inland areas. Today, Douglas-fir plantations are prevalent on the intensively logged and managed landscape. Lithology influences land management strategies; slopes underlain by sedimentary rock are more susceptible to failure following clearcutting and road building than those underlain by volcanic rock.^[1]

The Coast Range ecoregion has been subdivided into fifteen Level IV ecoregions.

Level IV ecoregions

Coastal Lowlands (1a)

The Coastal Lowlands ecoregion contains

National Wildlife Refuges, the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and numerous state parks.^[1]^[2]

Coastal Uplands (1b)

The Coastal Uplands ecoregion includes the headlands, high marine terraces, hills, and low mountains surrounding the Coastal Lowlands, with medium to high gradient tannic streams. Elevation varies from 400 to 2500 feet (120 to 760 m). The climate is marine-influenced with an extended winter rainy season and minimal seasonal temperature extremes. Abundant fog during the summer dry season reduces vegetation moisture stress. The Uplands region roughly corresponds with the historic distribution of Sitka spruce. After extensive logging, most of the Sitka spruce is gone, and today the forests are dominated by Douglas-fir and western hemlock, with a shrub layer of salal, sword fern, vine maple, Oregon grape, rhododendron, and evergreen blueberry. Wetter slopes and riparian areas feature red alder, bigleaf maple, and western redcedar, with a salmonberry and currant understory. The headlands are covered by grasslands. The region is nearly three times the size of the Coastal Lowlands, covering 1,431 square miles (3,706 km²) in Washington and 1,117 square miles (2,893 km²) in Oregon. Public lands include the Drift Creek Wilderness, the Siuslaw National Forest, and the Lewis and Clark and Cape Meares national wildlife refuges. California has not been mapped yet.^[1]^[2]

Low Olympics (1c)

The Low Olympics ecoregion contains

North Cascades ecoregion.^[2]

Volcanics (1d)

The Volcanics ecoregion consists of steeply sloping mountains and capes underlain by fractured

California oatgrass, and diverse forbs. This large but disjunct ecoregion covers 2,043 square miles (5,291 km²) in Oregon and 1,542 square miles (3,994 km²) in Washington, including parts of the Olympic and Siuslaw National Forests and the Cummins Creek and Rock Creek Wildernesses, as well as higher elevations in the Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge. California has not been mapped yet.^[1]^[2]

Outwash (1e)

The Outwash ecoregion is a gently sloping fan of

Grays Harbor County north of Aberdeen, Washington.^[2]

Willapa Hills (1f)

The Willapa Hills ecoregion (named for the Willapa Hills) consists of low, rolling hills and low, gently sloping mountains with medium gradient streams and rivers. It rises to an elevation of approximately 1,300 feet (396 m). This region has a lower drainage density than other upland areas in the Coast Range. Logging is relatively easy and less expensive in this accessible terrain, and industrial timberland has almost completely replaced the historic forests. When disturbed, the silt- and clay-textured soils are easily eroded, thereby degrading stream quality. The vegetation consists of Douglas-fir and western hemlock forests, with sword fern, vine maple, salal, Oregon grape, and rhododendron shrub layer. Wetter slopes and riparian areas support red alder, western redcedar, bigleaf maple, salmonberry, and oxalis. Large herds of Roosevelt elk winter in the region. The region covers 1,277 square miles (3,307 km²) in southwestern Washington and 751 square miles (1,945 km²) in northwestern Oregon, inland from the coast.^[1]^[2]

Mid-Coastal Sedimentary (1g)

The mountainous Mid-Coastal Sedimentary ecoregion lies outside of the coastal fog zone and is typically underlain by massive

grand fir, red alder, salmonberry, and oxalis, with California bay-laurel in the south. This is the largest of the Coast Range subregions, covering 3,739 square miles (9,684 km²) in the Central and Southern Oregon Coast Range.^[1]^[2]

Southern Oregon Coastal Mountains (1h)

The Southern Oregon Coastal Mountains ecoregion is a geologically and

Siskiyou National Forest.^[1]^[2]

Redwood Zone (1i)

The low mountains of the Redwood Zone ecoregion lie entirely within the coastal fog zone. Elevation varies from 50 to 1800 feet (15 to 550 m). Historically, unbroken redwood forests moderated the local climate by trapping the coastal fog and producing shade. Remnants of unlogged redwood forest still survive east of Brookings, Oregon. Today, the region is characteristically covered by a mixed forest of coast redwood and Douglas-fir, with a shrub layer of vine maple, rhododendron, sword fern, and oxalis. The region covers 31 square miles (80 km²) in the far southwestern corner of Oregon. Larger sections in northwestern California have not been mapped yet.^[1]^[2]

Gallery

Flora

Coast Douglas-fir
, Oregon's state tree
Sitka spruce logged in the Oregon Coast Range

Port Orford cedar, endemic
to the Southern Oregon Coastal Mountains

Northern California
Vine maple
Grasses help stabilize the
Oregon Dunes
.
Salmonberry
blossom
Salal
flowers

Fauna

Coho salmon
Douglas squirrel near the Oregon Coast
Snowy egret hunting fish
Black-tailed deer in the Northern Oregon Coast Range

Landscapes

Rock Creek Wilderness supports salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout.
Clearcutting and road building, as in this area near the source of the
slope failure
and affect surface water quality.
Olympic rainforests have the highest living biomass density on earth.
The dynamic Lanphere Dunes in Humboldt County exemplify the coastal dune forest ecosystem.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ This article incorporates public domain material from Thorson, TD; Bryce, SA; Lammers, DA; et al. Ecoregions of Oregon (PDF). United States Geological Survey. (color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs; with a Reverse side).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j This article incorporates public domain material from Pater, D; Bryce, SA; Kagan, J; et al. Ecoregions of Western Washington and Oregon (PDF). United States Geological Survey. (color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs; with a Reverse side).
^ "Gymnosperm Database: Sequoia sempervirens". Retrieved 2012-02-05.
^ "Gymnosperm Database: Pseudotsuga menziesii". Retrieved 2012-02-05.
^ "Gymnosperm Database: Picea sitchensis". Retrieved 2012-02-05.

[oregon4-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ This article incorporates public domain material from Thorson, TD; Bryce, SA; Lammers, DA; et al. Ecoregions of Oregon (PDF). United States Geological Survey. (color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs; with a Reverse side).

[western4-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j This article incorporates public domain material from Pater, D; Bryce, SA; Kagan, J; et al. Ecoregions of Western Washington and Oregon (PDF). United States Geological Survey. (color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs; with a Reverse side).

[3] "Gymnosperm Database: Sequoia sempervirens". Retrieved 2012-02-05.

[4] "Gymnosperm Database: Pseudotsuga menziesii". Retrieved 2012-02-05.

[5] "Gymnosperm Database: Picea sitchensis". Retrieved 2012-02-05.

[1]

[2]

v t e Level III Ecoregions in the United States
Marine West Coast Forest	1 Coast Range 2 Puget Lowland 3 Willamette Valley 111 Ahklun and Kilbuck Mountains 113 Alaska Peninsula Mountains 115 Cook Inlet 119 Pacific Coastal Mountains 120 Coastal Western Hemlock-Sitka Spruce Forests
Northwestern Forested Mountains	4 Cascades 5 Sierra Nevada 9 Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills 11 Blue Mountains 15 Northern Rockies 16 Idaho Batholith 17 Middle Rockies 19 Wasatch and Uinta Mountains 21 Southern Rockies 41 Canadian Rockies 77 North Cascades 78 Klamath Mountains 105 Interior Highlands 116 Alaska Range 117 Copper Plateau 118 Wrangell Mountains
Mediterranean California	6 Southern and Central California Chaparral and Oak Woodlands 7 Central California Valley 8 Southern California Mountains
North American Deserts	10 Columbia Plateau 12 Snake River Plain 13 Central Basin and Range 14 Mojave Basin and Range 18 Wyoming Basin 20 Colorado Plateaus 22 Arizona/New Mexico Plateau 24 Chihuahuan Deserts 80 Northern Basin and Range 81 Sonoran Basin and Range
Temperate Sierras	23 Arizona/New Mexico Mountains
Great Plains	25 Western High Plains 26 Southwestern Tablelands 27 Central Great Plains 28 Flint Hills 29 Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains (Cross Timbers) 30 Edwards Plateau 31 Southern Texas Plains 34 Western Gulf Coastal Plain 40 Central Irregular Plains 42 Northwestern Glaciated Plains 43 Northwestern Great Plains 44 Nebraska Sand Hills 45 Piedmont 46 Northern Glaciated Plains 47 Western Corn Belt Plains 48 Lake Agassiz Plain
Eastern Temperate Forest	32 Texas Blackland Prairies 33 East Central Texas Plains 35 South Central Plains 36 Ouachita Mountains 37 Arkansas Valley 38 Boston Mountains 39 Ozark Highlands 51 North Central Hardwood Forests 52 Driftless Area 53 Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains 54 Central Corn Belt Plains 55 Eastern Corn Belt Plains 56 Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains 57 Huron/Erie Lake Plains 59 Northeastern Coastal Zone 60 Northern Appalachian Plateau and Uplands 61 Erie Drift Plain 63 Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain 64 Northern Piedmont 65 Southeastern Plains 66 Blue Ridge 67 Ridge and Valley 68 Southwestern Appalachians 69 Central Appalachians 70 Western Allegheny Plateau 71 Interior Plateau 72 Interior River Valleys and Hills 73 Mississippi Alluvial Plain 74 Mississippi Valley Loess Plains 75 Southern Coastal Plain 82 Laurentian Plains and Hills 83 Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands 84 Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens
Northern Forests	49 Northern Minnesota Wetlands 50 Northern Lakes and Forests 58 Northeastern Highlands 62 North Central Appalachians
Tropical Wet Forests	76 Southern Florida Coastal Plain
Southern Semi-Arid Highlands	79 Madrean Archipelago
Taiga	101 Arctic Coastal Plain 102 Arctic Foothills 103 Brooks Range 104 Interior Forested Lowlands and Uplands 106 Interior Bottomlands 107 Yukon Flats 108 Ogilvie Mountains
Tundra	109 Subarctic Coastal Plains 110 Seward Peninsula 112 Bristol Bay-Nushagak Lowlands 114 Aleutian Islands
as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency [1]

v t e Level III Ecoregions in Oregon
Marine West Coast Forest	1 Coast Range 3 Willamette Valley
Northwestern Forested Mountains	4 Cascades 9 Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills 11 Blue Mountains 78 Klamath Mountains
North American Deserts	10 Columbia Plateau 12 Snake River Plain 80 Northern Basin and Range
as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency [2]