Temperate rainforests
Temperate rainforests are rainforests in temperate areas that receive a high amount of rainfall. These rainforests tend to be rather cold and very mossy with plenty of ferns. Many of them occur in Oceanic regions, including East Coast Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, southern Chile and Patagonia, the Pacific Northwest (including British Columbia), the Black Sea Coast, the Appalachians (both in Canada and the US), western Norway, the British Isles and northern Iberia.
Understand[edit]
For a place to be considered a rainforest, it needs to have a year-round humid climate and particularly high levels of rainfall. In the tropics, more than 2000 mm of rain per year is necessary (in the lowlands) for ever-moist rainforests to thrive, while in cooler temperate latitudes, due to much lower evaporation, 1000 mm is sufficient (which falls largely as snow towards the cold temperate zone). The range of average annual rainfall is between 1000 and 2100 mm, often supplemented by fog, which keeps the forest additionally moist.
Since the highest rainfall occurs in the westerly wind zones on the rising slopes of mountains, nearly all temperate rainforests are on the western slopes of high coastal mountains – places such as Australia tend to be the exception rather than the norm. Here, sea breezes directed inland carry moisture-laden air masses towards the mountains, forcing them to rise. Thus, in mountainous areas, the total precipitation often exceeds 4000 mm. Extreme examples include Hucuktlis Lake on the west coast of Vancouver Island with almost 7000 mm or parts of West Coast New Zealand with over 11000 mm.
The exact definition of a temperate rainforest varies by location. In the Americas, a temperate rainforest needs to have at least 1400 mm of rainfall yearly with a mean annual temperature between 4–12°C. In Australia, however, the canopy of trees must cover at least 69 per cent of the sky with species that do not require fire to regenerate. For the purposes of Wikivoyage, no one criteria is used, but whether general consensus accepts it to be a temperate rainforest.
Destinations[edit]
Argentina[edit]
Australia[edit]
Queensland
Tasmania
- 2 Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, Central Tasmania. Although mostly alpine, the section of forest closer to the visitor centre and bus terminal has a large patch of temperate rainforest.
- 3 Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, West Coast Tasmania. Almost all of the national park is temperate rainforest. It's best explored along the A10 Lyell Hwy and the popular roadside Nelson Falls.
- 4 Hartz Mountains National Park, Huon and Far South.
- 5 Mount Field National Park, Derwent Valley. Tasmania's most visited temperate rainforest and is the most famous in the state, though the park features a mix of both alpine vegetation and temperate rainforests. The best way to explore the temperate rainforests specifically is via the Three Falls Track.
- 6 Southwest National Park, Southern Tasmania. Tasmania's largest national park covering 10% of the state has several patches of temperate rainforest (among alpine landscapes). The most accessible of those is the Creepy Crawly Nature Trail.
Victoria
- 7 Dandenong Ranges.
- 8 Great Otway National Park.
- 9 Strzelecki Ranges.
- 10 Tarra-Bulga National Park, Central Gippsland. A small patch of temperate rainforest in an area mostly logged in the early 20th century, but this small patch is one of the best-preserved temperate rainforests in the region.
- 11 Yarra Ranges National Park (including Black Spur Drive).
Canada[edit]
- 12 Cape Scott Provincial Park, North Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
- 13 Haida Gwaii, Northern British Columbia.
- 14 Wells Gray Provincial Park, North Thompson and Robson Valley, British Columbia.
Chile[edit]
- 15 Chiloé National Park, Chiloé Island, Southern Chile.
- 16 Queulat National Park, Northern Patagonia.
New Zealand[edit]
- 17 Fiordland National Park, Southland.
- 18 Mount Aspiring National Park.
- 19 Westland Tai Poutini National Park, West Coast. While this national park may be mostly known for its glaciers, lower down closer to the coast, it holds many temperate rainforests, including surrounding Lake Matheson (hikable on a 4.4-km track) and Minnehaha Walk (a small walk near Fox Glacier).
Norway[edit]
- 20 Lomsdal–Visten National Park.
- 21 Ørsta, Møre og Romsdal.
Taiwan[edit]
United States[edit]
- 22 Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee & North Carolina.
- 23 Redwood National and State Parks, California.
- 24 Olympic National Park, Olympic Peninsula, Washington.
See also[edit]