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PARKS OF WASHINGTON
Nicky Leach
64 pages. Oversized 10”x13”
ISBN 1-58071-068-7
$9.95 
This
stunningly beautiful, oversized book is lavishly illustrated
with breathtaking color imagery by America’s leading
landscape photographers. In addition to the stunning
photography, the book also includes detailed maps of
the park and region and insightful, heartfelt narratives
detailing the parks’ natural and human histories.
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| Washington is 68,139 square miles in area and is in the Pacific Northwest, the coastal region that also includes Oregon, northern California, and southeast Alaska. It is known as the Evergreen State in honor of the old-growth forests made possible by the ample rainfall that falls on the coastal region. Two towering mountain ranges—the mainland Cascades and the Olympics—are responsible for Washington's famous weather. The climate veers between very wet—160-200 inches of annual rainfall along the crest of the Olympic Mountains—and very dry—less than 15 inches east of the Cascades, semi-desert.
Washington's major federal lands—Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks; Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument; and Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area—all display these Jekyll and Hyde weather conditions, which are also responsible for the remarkable biodiversity found within their large areas.
Water—too much or too little—has long characterized the natural landscape here. The Channeled Scablands, bordering the Columbia River east of the Cascades, were carved by Ice Age floods then left high and dry as the climate warmed. Today, the Columbia River is a managed waterway through its series of dams that helped revolutionize the economy of the Pacific Northwest in the 20th century.
Seattle, one of the most beautiful waterfront cities in the world, is the cultural center of western Washington, and within three hours of all the parks in this book. To the west are 80-mile-long Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Hood Canal; to the east are Lakes Washington and Sammamish; to the northeast, Lakes Ross and Chelan. Puget Sound is a deep fjord carved by the mile-thick Vashon glacier during the last Ice Age. It's home to Pacific harbor seals, killer whales, salmon, bald eagles, and other wildlife. Thickly forested islands dot the Sound and include such popular destinations as Bainbridge, Vashon, and Whidbey Islands, as well as the San Juan Islands.
—From the Introduction to “Parks of Washington”
by Nicky Leach
PARKS OF WASHINGTON
Nicky Leach
64 pages. Oversized 10”x13”
ISBN 1-58071-068-7
$9.95
- OTHER TITLES THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
Mount Rainier by Ron Warfield
- Mount Rainier: A Perilous Paradise by Ron Warfield
- Mount St. Helens: The Rebirth of Mount St. Helens by Barbara Decker
Mt.
St. Helens: Fire Mountain: The Eruption and Rebirth
- Columbia River Gorge: Land of Falling Water by Nicky Leach
- Olympic: A Timeless Refuge by Nicky Leach
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