Rainshadow
Farmland to the northeast must be irrigated. Less than 20 inches
of rain falls there annually. Behind you only forty miles to the
west grows a dense rainforest, a dripping jungle of ferns and giant
spruce in a Jack-in-the-beanstalk environment nurtured by the 140-
180 inches of rainfall per year.
Mountains cast the shadow. Saturated Pacific winds rise steeply
up the coastal slopes. As sudden altitude cools and condenses the
air, most of the moisture is wrung out over the peaks by the time
clouds reach this corner of the peninsula.
Don't miss the rest of our virtual tour of Olympic Mountains National Park in 646 images.