Best Old Growth
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Congaree National Park protects a floodplain forest along the Congaree and Wateree rivers in central South Carolina. Designated a national park in 2003, it contains one of the largest remaining areas of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States, including unusually tall trees of sev...
Tongass National Forest is a large protected area covering approximately 68,000 square kilometers in southeastern Alaska. Established in the early 20th century, it is the largest national forest in the United States. The landscape encompasses a significant portion of the world's remaining intact tem...
The ivory-billed woodpecker was a large North American woodpecker, possibly extinct, distinguished by its distinctive pale ivory bill and preference for old-growth forests. It’s notable as one of the last hoped-for sightings of a potentially extinct bird species. Ornithologists, conservationists, an...
The Great Bear Rainforest is a 64,000 km² coastal temperate rainforest located along the central and north coast of British Columbia, Canada. It was formally protected through land-use agreements announced in 2016. The region is characterized by old-growth forests, fjords, and diverse wildlife, incl...
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a protected wetland managed by the National Audubon Society in southwestern Florida. It preserves an important old-growth bald cypress forest together with pine flatwoods, wet prairie, marsh, and pond habitats used by alligators, otters, wading birds, and numerous plant...
The Hoh Rainforest is a temperate rainforest situated on the Olympic Peninsula within Olympic National Park in Washington state, United States. It receives an average of 140 to 170 inches of precipitation annually, which supports the growth of towering Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and thick layers...
The Danum Valley Conservation Area is a protected tract of primary lowland dipterocarp rainforest located in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Spanning approximately 438 square kilometers, it is distinguished by its ecological integrity as an area that has never undergone commercial logging. The region is a...
The Quinault Rainforest is a temperate rainforest located within Olympic National Park in Washington State, USA. Situated around Lake Quinault, the valley receives extremely high annual precipitation, creating an ideal habitat for massive old-growth trees. The forest holds several record-sized speci...
Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park is a major protected area located in the Los Lagos region of Chilean Patagonia. Originally established as a private nature sanctuary by American conservationist Douglas Tompkins, the land was donated to the Chilean government and officially designated a nationa...
A remote conservation area in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, covering approximately 588 km² within a nearly circular basin enclosed by steep escarpments. Its rugged terrain limited human access for decades, with the first major scientific expedition in 1988. The area protects extensive old-growth tropical...
The Valdivian Coastal Reserve is a protected natural area situated in the Los Ríos Region of southern Chile. It safeguards the Valdivian temperate rainforest, a rare and biodiverse ecosystem found only in southwestern South America. The reserve's landscape features dense forests, rivers, and rugged...
Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park is a protected area located on the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1990, the park preserves expansive tracts of old-growth temperate rainforest. It is renowned for its massive ancient trees, including some of Canada'...
Located in the Los Ríos Region of Chile, Alerce Costero National Park is a protected area spanning Valdivian temperate rainforest. Established in 2010, the park was created primarily to conserve ancient alerce trees (Fitzroya cupressoides), with some individual specimens exceeding 3,000 years in age...
The Queets Rainforest is a temperate rainforest valley situated on the western slopes of the Olympic Mountains in Washington state. Protected within the borders of Olympic National Park, the area is renowned for its pristine, old-growth forest ecosystem. The valley is defined by the meandering Queet...
Chugach National Forest is a vast protected area spanning roughly 6.9 million acres in the southcentral region of Alaska. It is the second-largest national forest in the United States, featuring a diverse landscape that encompasses the Copper River Delta, Prince William Sound, and the eastern Kenai...
The Bogachiel Rainforest is a temperate rainforest valley situated on the western slopes of the Olympic Mountains in Washington state. Much of it lies within Olympic National Park, an International Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area receives over 140 inches of precipitation a...
The Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) is a medium-sized owl native to mature forests of western North America. It is divided into three recognized subspecies associated with the Pacific Northwest, the Sierra Nevada, and the canyonlands of the Southwest. Its reliance on structurally complex old-growth...
