Redwood National Park

Greg Delia 6th Hour

Redwood National Park

Imagine yourself standing at the base of a Coastal Redwood tree and looking up 300 feet to the top. You would soon feel insignificant, like an ant looking up at a blade of grass. Not to mention all of the other towering species of plant life, such as huckleberry bushes, found in Redwood National Park. Although the park is famous for its Redwood trees, hence the name of the park, they are not all the park has to offer. There is a wide variety of wildlife found within the park, including a diverse amount of animals.

Redwood National Park is made up of a number of different ecosystems and each are home to many different species of animals. The main ecosystem in the park is, of course, the woodlands. Many species of birds, including the bald eagle, reside in these woods. Also living in the woods are the black bear and bobcat, which are often feared by visitors to the park, but never cause any real harm. Little do many people know Redwoods National Park also contains prairie land and seashore which bear a variety of unusual species? Roosevelt elk are often seen roaming the prairie, while sea lions and gray whales are common sights along the seashore. Also on these seashores are small invertibres found in tidepools including ochre sea star and the purple shore crab.

These diverse ecosystems are home to many plant species as well. The woodlands of course are home to the Redwood trees. These are the tallest trees in the world, as mentioned before, they grow, on average, about 300 feet in height, with a diameter of 40 feet. Between the forest and the seashore are the groves of Sitka spruce which, because they can withstand the harsh salt winds, act as a buffer to protect the more delicate Redwood trees. Other species of trees include tanoak, big-leaf maple, California bay, and red alder. In the Redwoods' understory you