Photos: Contrasting forests
Phone booth
At the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park, one of the first things visitors see is a phone booth covered in moss. The dense vegetation in the park contrasts sharply with the barren terrain of nearby clear-cut forestland.
Moss
Throughout the Hoh Rain Forest, trees are overcome with moss, often from the ground all the way to their tops.
Branch over creek
A moss-covered branch extends over a creek in the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park in Washington.
Clump of moss
Moss is so abundant in the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park that clumps of it sometimes fall from tree branches.
Dripping moss
The moss dripping down from trees makes some forest settings seem fantastical, like something from a Tolkien story.
Clear-cut forest
The Oregon and Washington coasts are pockmarked with miles of clear-cut forest. Clear-cutting leaves the land looking like it has been hit by a hurricane.
Visible clear-cut
While the clear-cutting is often hidden away or hard to see, it is sometimes directly visible from Highway 101.
Tall tree
Because of heavy annual rainfall, high humidity, deep and well-draining soil and mild temperatures, the trees in the Hoh Rain Forest are among the tallest of their species in the world.