The Olympic Peninsula encompasses a wide range of ecosystems from alpine meadows to coastal tidal pools to temperate rainforest. Here you can find species of
plants and animals found nowhere else in the world and eight of the largest trees of
their respective species.
Salmon swim upstream to spawn, pursued by bears, otters, and eagles. Off the coast
whales can be seen migrating north to summer feeding grounds. A third of the national park consists of old-growth forests, tracks of untouched land that provide important habitat for threatened species of animals like the northern spotted owl.
The area was designated a national park in 1938, and in 1976 became an International Biosphere Reserve. In 1981 UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site. The park
covers 920,650 acres and receives nearly 3 million visitors a year.
Previous page: Sol Duc River. Clockwise from top left: Rialto Beach on the Pacific Ocean; deer and a fawn on
Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains; the largest Sitka Spruce in the world; freshwater Lake Crescent; a
waterfall in the Hoh Rainforest. Photos by Kelsey Reed.