The Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington is a place of dramatic contrasts shaped by wind, water, and mountains. To the west, waves crash against rocky headlands and scatter spray over tide pools filled with anemones and sea stars. Just inland, rain-laden clouds roll off the Pacific and break against the Olympic Mountains. Their steep slopes force the air upward, cooling the moisture into persistent drizzle and winter snow.
On the wet side, temperate rainforests flourish. Giant Sitka spruce and western hemlock tower over carpets of sword fern and moss. Fallen “nurse logs” absorb water like sponges and support new seedlings along their backs. Elk browse river flats, and banana slugs recycle leaf litter into nutrients. Streams run cold and clear through shaded valleys, offering gravel beds and deep pools where salmon and steelhead rest and spawn.
Yet only a short drive east, the landscape shifts. The mountains create a rain shadow over the town of Sequim and the northeastern shore, where summers are sunnier and drier. Prairie plants withstand the wind, and open oak stands replace dense conifers. Farther south, glacier-carved valleys climb toward icefields and rocky summits. Alpine meadows bloom for a brief season before autumn storms return.
People have long called the peninsula home. The Quinault, Hoh, Makah, Quileute, and other Tribes have deep ties to rivers, fish, and cedar forests. Today, Olympic National Park protects much of the interior, while coastal reservations and communities manage shorelines and fisheries. Visitors hike, watch migrating whales, and learn how wildfire, flood, and climate change are reshaping forests and coasts.
Success in caring for the Olympic Peninsula depends on balance: respecting tribal sovereignty, keeping streams cool and connected for salmon, and planning towns that can handle powerful storms. Whether under drifting snow, steady rain, or summer sun, the peninsula’s mix of rainforest, alpine, and coast remains one of the most diverse landscapes in the Pacific Northwest.
1. Which statement best captures the central idea of the passage?
2. What process creates the heavy rainfall and snowfall on the west side of the mountains?
3. Which feature of the rainforest most directly supports new tree growth?
4. What does the term “rain shadow” describe in the passage?
5. Which connection between people and place is emphasized?
6. Select ALL factors the passage links to healthy salmon habitat.
7. Why do alpine meadows have such a short growing season on the Olympic Peninsula?
8. Evidence in the text (Highlight Task)
Turn on Highlight Mode. Then highlight the sentence that best supports this claim:
“Some parts of the Olympic Peninsula are drier because of the mountains.”
Tip: Select the sentence and release to highlight. Click a highlight to remove it.