Editing Cascade Range (section)

==Ecology==
[[File:Vaccinium ovalifolium 9376.JPG|thumb|[[Vaccinium ovalifolium|Oval-leaf blueberry]] on [[Mount Pilchuck]]]]
{{main|Cascades (ecoregion)|Ecology of the North Cascades}}

Forests of large, coniferous trees ([[western red cedar]]s, Douglas-firs, western hemlocks, [[fir]]s, [[pine]]s, [[spruce]]s, and others) dominate most of the Cascade Range. Cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers (largely a  result of oceanic influence) favor evergreen species, whereas mild temperatures and rich soils promote fast and prolonged growth.<ref name="sandt">{{USGS|source={{Cite book |title=Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources |chapter=Pacific Northwest |chapter-url=http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/sandt/Nrthwest.pdf}} }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Waring |first1=RH |last2=Franklin |first2=JF |s2cid=28313427 |year=1979 |title=Evergreen coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest |journal=Northwest Science |volume=204 |issue=4400 |pages=1380–1386 |bibcode=1979Sci...204.1380W |doi=10.1126/science.204.4400.1380 |pmid=17814182}}</ref>
[[File:Mountain Goat in North Cascades.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mountain goat]] on [[Wallaby Peak]] in the North Cascades]]

As a traveler passes through the Cascade Range, the climate first gets colder, then warmer and drier east of the crest.<ref>{{Cite web |url=ftp://ftp.epa.gov/pub/wed/ecoregions/reg10/ORWAFront90.pdf |title=Ecoregions of Western Washington and Oregon |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525052737/ftp://ftp.epa.gov/pub/wed/ecoregions/reg10/ORWAFront90.pdf |archive-date=2017-05-25 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 4, 2013 }}</ref> Most of the Cascades' lower and middle elevations are covered in [[coniferous forest]]; the higher altitudes have extensive [[meadows]] as well as [[alpine tundra]] and [[glacier]]s. The southern part of the Cascades are within the [[California Floristic Province]], an area of high [[biodiversity]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

[[Silver fir]] predominates above 2500&nbsp;ft, while there are [[Moorland|moors]], [[meadow]]s, and [[Tsuga mertensiana|mountain hemlock]]/[[Abies lasiocarpa|subalpine fir]] groves from 4500 to 6000&nbsp;ft on the west side. The [[Tree line|treeline]] is at ~6000 feet. On the east side, subalpine forests of [[larch]] trees grade to [[pine]] and interior [[fir]] forests below 4200&nbsp;ft, which grade to [[Ponderosa pine forest|ponderosa]] below 2500&nbsp;ft, which in turn grades to semidesert [[Shrubland|scrub]] near sea level. Above 7500&nbsp;ft, the landscape is barren with either no plants or only [[moss]] and [[lichen]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Life Zones in Washington |url=https://www.mountaineers.org/locations-lodges/seattle-branch/committees/seattle-naturalists-committee/course-templates/introduction-to-the-natural-world-course/inw-course-materials/course-materials-old/2015-course-materials/inw-2015-lecture-4-life-zones}}</ref>

[[American black bear|Black bears]], [[coyote]]s, [[bobcat]]s, [[cougar]]s, [[beaver]]s, [[deer]], [[elk]], [[moose]], [[mountain goat]]s and a few [[wolf]] packs returning from Canada live in the Cascades. Fewer than 50 [[grizzly bear]]s reside in the Cascades of Canada and Washington.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rice |first=Nathan |url=http://www.hcn.org/issues/43.19/the-forgotten-north-cascades-grizzly-bear |title=The forgotten North Cascades grizzly bear |date=November 14, 2011 |work=High Country News |location=Paonia, Colorado}}</ref>

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