baumzaehlen - Primeval Forests & Their Trees

Glacier National Park , British Columbia, Canada - Beaver Valley

Large areas in the park are covered by rock, ice, alpine meadows and subalpine parkland. However, the forests in Beaver Valley are classified as ”Inland Rainforest” or ”Columbian Forest”, an interesting mixture of the coastal rainforests and the forests of the Canadian Rockies. On the valley bottom (elevation 950-1100 metres) the forest is composed mainly of four tree species, two of which - Tsuga heterophylla (western hemlock) and Thuja plicata (western redcedar) - are also components of the coastal forests, and the other two - Picea engelmannii × glauca (Engelmann × white Spruce) and Abies lasiocarpa (subalpine fir) - occur in the Rockies. Picea is the tallest tree here. The stoutest is Thuja although it does not become as large here as nearer the coast. Tree species diversity is low and most species are easy to identify.

Camping outside the designated areas is permitted beyond 5 km from pavement. The spiny shrub Oplopanax horridus (devil’s club) is abundant, making off-trail hiking rather difficult.

Official site:

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/glacier/index.aspx