A Walk Through Pacific Rim National Park Essay

Pacific Rim National Park is a strip of land along the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island. The park has a long beach, a series of islands and a long coastal trail. The park has a rich cover of coastal lowland forests mainly made up of towering Sitka spruce and ferns. This region has cool, wet climates that produce a very abundant life on both water and land. The lush coastal temperate rainforests produces diverse sub tidal and intertidal areas along the coastline.
The temperatures recorded in the first day of the visit to the park were 12.5 degrees centigrade. The temperatures in the second visit were 13.5 degrees centigrade. Temperatures averaged 13 degrees centigrade for the two days. The moderate temperatures and cool climate has given rise to lush green forest vegetation. Some of the trees observed in the rainforest were stunted spruce, Sitka spruce, amabilis, western hemlock cedar and blueberry trees. Salmonberry undergrowth is also present in the rain forest.
The conifers of the rainforest have ferns and mosses growing on them. In marshy areas of the park, stunted shoreline mosses, sphagnum mosses and Labrador trees are abundant. In the streams along the rainforest, alder willows, cascara and thimbleberry grows are present. Grasses, sedge, and eelgrass are also abundant in the park. The sub tidal areas of the park are abundant with kelp. Among the animals that were viewed in the park, include whales, black tail deer, marten raccoons, easel, cougar’s wolf, and Roosevelt elk.
Bald eagles flying above the sub tidal areas of the park are also common in the park. The sounds of bald eagles, garter snakes, leatherback turtles, frogs and salamanders are also common among the sub tidal areas of the ocean. Along the broken islands in the park, there are many marine terraces, cut off cliffs, Wild wind blown beaches and lush vegetation.
The noise of the intertidal zone is also prominent in the National Park as waves hit the costal beaches of the national park. Heavy winds blowing through the ocean into the rainforest also contribute to some of the sounds in the national park. One major difference noted in the national park in the two visits was the difference in the level of sand beaches covered by tides. In the first visit, most of the sandy beaches were covered by tides and, it was not possible to view much of the marine wildlife. However, during the second visit, the tide was low and most of the sandy beaches were exposed. It was possible to view marine animals like turtle’s, worms and lobsters in the second visit.
There was also a one hour, ten minutes difference between the lengths of the two days of Visit to pacific national park. In the first visit, there was very heavy cloud cover and humidity that made it hard to view the variety of the plants in the rainforest of the national park. However, on the second visit, there was no cloud cover and it was possible to view the different colors of the plants in the rainforest. A journey through the Pacific Rim National park evoked emotions of tranquility and serenity of nature. The visit to the park also brought an unawareness of the need for efforts to preserve such natural habitats for future generations.