Endangered Coastal Rainforest
Redwood National Park is located in northern California, near the Oregon border. Its size is 430,000 hectares. The national park is home to some of the largest and oldest redwood trees in the world. About half of the world’s population of coast redwoods can be found here. The Redwood National Park protects the rainforest-like coniferous forest on California’s north coast and the lonely, rugged coastal area in northern California with all its flora and fauna.
Humid Mist Coastal Rainforest in Northern California
According to MCAT-TEST-CENTERS, the national park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980 and an international biosphere reserve since 1983. Redwood National Park includes a mountainous portion along the Pacific Ocean. The National Park stretches 90 km along the Pacific coast. The park protects one of the most lush coastal rainforest areas in the United States.
Rare redwoods in the fog
The national park has the largest contiguous reedwood forests on earth. The locations of the most valuable redwoods in the park are not known; the aim is to keep the flow of visitors away from the trees in order to preserve and protect the ecosystem. The coastal area of the national park has a very humid climate, it rains very often there or it is foggy. Even in summer, the coastal redwoods are often shrouded in fog. These redwood trees can only exist in this humid climate – species of tree (sequoia sempervirens ) is found only in a strip about 50 kilometers wide along the coast between northern California and southern Oregon.
Famous Chandelier Tree, about 130 miles south of Redwood National Park
Redwood – giants of nature
The tallest trees on earth are in Redwood National Park. The Tall Trees Grove has the tallest existing redwood at 112 meters. At the entrance to the national park, in Orick on the coast, you can find out about the locations of the tallest trees. The valuable redwoods were still being felled in the park in the 19th century. Today, logging is still practiced in the park area, but the redwood trees have not been cut down for a long time.
National Park since 1968
In 1902, the area was granted Basin Redwood State Park status. Even then, many people campaigned for the preservation of the redwoods. The association “Save the Redwoods” was founded. Over the course of time, the association bought up more and more parts of the protected area. Eventually, in 1968, the area was designated as Redwood National Park. The protected area of the national park was later enlarged.
Pacific Coast in Redwood National Park – Northern California
In the core zone only with special permission
Approaching the park from the north of Oregon, one can enter Redwood National Park at Crescent Beach. There is a small museum and the park administration. There are also several visitor centers in the park itself. Inside the park you can only move around in a motorized vehicle with a special permit. Driving on the sheltered coastal beaches is strictly prohibited. Commercial fishermen on the coast are only allowed to work on certain days of the week. Fishing on lakes and streams in the park is only possible to a very limited extent.
National park for hikers
The Redwood Park with its well-developed network of hiking trails primarily attracts hikers ; Mountain bikers are only allowed to use the trails to a limited extent. Bikers should find out more about this in advance at the Visitor Center. There are a few campgrounds in Redwood National Park ; but you can easily stay in a hotel outside of the park.
Ecosystems of the national park
Many threatened and endangered animal and plant species are at home in the Redwood National Park with its diverse ecosystems. The redwood trees are the “biggest” highlights in the national park. Black bears, elk, white-tailed eagles, sea lions, pelicans and seagulls live in the northern Californian coastal protection area and the adjacent forests, in the sea starfish, fish or passing gray whales live. The clutches of the Spotted Owl, Bald Eagle, Kentish Plover and Peregrine Falcon are guarded by wildlife biologists within the national park. The breeding regions of raptors, seabirds and shorebirds are under strict protection. The intertidal zone on the Pacific Ocean, the humid cloud forest on the coast, and the freshwater lakes and streams in the park are home to an enormous variety of endangered and rare animal and plant species.
Sequoia Redwood California
Avenue of Giants
Coastal Route 101 turns off at Eureka and takes the motorist along the beautiful ” Avenue of the Giants ” for about 50 kilometers. There you can admire the impressive sequoias, the flora and fauna from the car. There are three drive-through trees in Redwood National Park. You are along Highway 101 in Northern California. However, if you want to drive through, you have to pay for it. Gouging out redwoods just to drive through them would no longer be allowed today.
