This underwater deposition of alternating sand, mud, and basalt happened for 40 million years from about 55 Ma to 15 million years ago. Nowadays, these rocks make up the Olympic Mountains.
How did they get there? The thick accumulation of oceanic crust began to move slowly towards the North American continent by a process called subduction. Subduction occurs when shifting tectonic plates causes dense rocks like oceanic crust to subduct, or shift beneath lighter, less dense rocks like continental crust. Subduction caused the oceanic rocks to fold and break as they moved closer and closer to the continent.
Along the edge of the continent, sediment was scraped off and stacked, forming what is called an accretionary wedge. During subduction, some of the oceanic crust was also thrust onto the continent.
Heat and pressure from the thickening pile of sediment caused metamorphism, resulting in rocks like shale, schist, phyllite, and greenstone.
Over time, subduction off the coast caused the oceanic crust and accretionary wedge to uplift into a mountain-range-scale horseshoe-shaped fold. Today, metamorphosed sedimentary rocks lie in the core of the mountain range, and the oceanic basalt lies along the periphery. Geologists call this basalt the Crescent Formation.
The Olympic Mountains are eroded and carved by running water, glacial ice, and gravity. Together these three erosional processes work together to carve the landscape and carry the material from the mountains back to the sea. As the Olympic Mountains continue to uplift, they capture more moisture from the storms that come from the ocean toward the land. These rivers carry massive amounts of water from the high Olympic Mountains, where it rains an average of to inches a year, more than any other place in the continental U.
Coast From sandy beaches to rocky offshore islands, Olympic's shoreline harbors a wealth of marine and intertidal communities. The coastline changes with every tide, making it a new experience every hour of the day.
Use your senses to enjoy views of spectacular sunsets over the deep blue sea; take in soundscapes of crashing waves and barking sea lions; smell the salty sea air that stings the cheeks and refreshes the mind.
Geology The Olympic Peninsula awes visitors for its drastic contrast from sea level to alpine meadows all in the same park. Animals meander, following the greenery as meadows turn to snow fields. Plants cling low to the rocky soil or tower over the valley floor. Each year, people will stand on Hurricane Ridge, soaking in views in all directions of powerful looming mountain peaks, trek across the landscape, and marvel at the scenery all made by the forces of the Earth.
Each ecosystem, each natural feature, and each living creature are here due to geologic process of the past, present, and future. Everything that creates the beauty of the park, from animal homes to vacation views, relies on geology. Money collected by workers hired to fill the temporary jobs is usually spent outside the local economic borders. Even with the doubt generated by conflicting research, investors are attracted to the international exposure and the potential for profit created by the Olympics.
Attractive potential described by the city can aid in the advancement from the application stage to the candidate stage. Candidates must submit a detailed plan that describes the vision, political background of the host committee, effect on the environment, finance, advertisement, venues, security, facilities, transportation, electronics, and media preparation 3.
Because of the competition to build an infrastructure that will leave an Olympic legacy, cities open the treasury often bidding more than projected returns.
The IOC conducts site visits and selects the host city about seven years before the event so that progress can be monitored. One advantage that some cities may have over others is the strength of their political leaders and their ideology.
The cities with strong leaders who push agendas with the idea of growth creation seem to have the edge over cities with different beliefs. Billings and Holliday 3 noted that cities with greater population growth and gross domestic product were selected to host the Olympics significantly outpacing the other finalists.
The IOC selection committee has moved to allowing countries to select one city each to compete for final consideration. Host cities and finalists seem to have several common factors that gives westernized countries an edge when competing. Developed language with limited fractionalization is important for communication and economic stimulation with projecting growth and limited corruption. Tendencies for those countries seem to be more peaceful in nature allowing for a greater vision of legacy through investments.
When cities met the criteria of models that addressed population and economic growth, results of the study showed that host cities had greater success with achieving a positive Olympic legacy. Due to the large amounts of money needed to invest in a bid to host the Games, only two cities from developing nations hosted the event between and 2.
Mexico City hosted the Olympic Games in and Seoul in Considering that most workers that build the stadiums come from outside the local area, the economic benefit to the local economy is overstated with some economists saying there is no correlation to economic development.
Construction of stadiums could be considered temporary and may only transfer workers from other employment creating zero net benefit to the economy. Whereas, despite predictions of 77, in jobs creation for the Atlanta Games of , studies found that increases were realistically found to be between 3, and 42, The same outcome was noticed in Los Angeles in when the 5, additional jobs were found to be transitory leaving zero net gain 2.
Facing uncertain economic benefits from an Olympic bid or hosting opportunity, cities may investigate the intangible factors that accompany the Games. Recognition generated by media coverage brings the city from insignificance to importance. The perception is that recognition will lead to competition for financial relevance among the world renowned cities.
In the case of the Olympics held in Beijing, China aimed to develop a stronger competition with Asian cities that dominated the region economically. In addition to any monetary benefits that China hoped to gain, displaying their democratic and civil advancements of their society was very attractive.
Some other benefits that China wished to gain were citizen self-confidence, civic pride and dynamism 2. To justify the cost of new infrastructure, city integration of new additions is imperative. Increased Trade Similarly to Beijing, other countries believe that the international exposure will increase trade and promote public relations. The IOC agrees and relates increased interest to exposure.
South Korea had a vision to improve the relations with the North and Soviet Union and increase Korean exports. The increase in exports by host cities of international events establishes justification for the investment. Rose and Spiegel 7 have identified a relationship between the host cities and increased trade. In a similar scenario, Rome hosted the Games; and in , they accomplished several events that coincided with the awarded Olympic bid.
Joining the United Nations, converting currency discussions, negotiating the Treaty of Rome and the European Economic Community creation moved the country to an increase in world trade. Comparing host cities to bidding cities for export impact, Rose and Spiegel 7 found insignificant differences.
When examining bidding and host cities with same size populations, improvements to infrastructure were similar. As cities are experiencing equivalent economic growth, the incentive becomes less tangible and more about status.
The liberalization and open export are attractive features gained from Olympic bids. Local and federal governments are attracted to this addition and interpreted as future economic growth. In the study conducted by Rose and Spiegel 7 , the data do not explain the support because the difference in gain significant. The proponents for hosting the Games believe that even if the expenses outweigh the profits, the intangible feelings that a citizen gains will create a greater sense of pride and good will 7.
Because the intangible benefits are difficult to measure, scholars debate the cost effectiveness of hosting the Games. Global visibility of host cities appears to significantly stimulate exporting of goods around the world.
Using sensitivity checks, Rose and Spiegel 7 claimed that the results of economic impact and two-way trade are sustainable. When the criteria of distance, population, and income is examined, the results of trade remain strong. Even regional variables do not affect the strong results.
No matter how the data are manipulated, countries that host the Olympic Games show stronger trade results than other countries. Inevitably, the main reasons that countries explore the opportunity to host the Games are international exposure and financial gain 7.
When comparing the data of host cities to unsuccessful bidding cities, trade improvement and economic impact do not vary significantly.
In choosing the cities to compare, the first runner up was examined with variables of population size and same bidding year. Examining the cities may seem like a difficult comparison; however, the results produced similar success lasting for decades. The conclusion is that the effect on trade does not necessarily come from hosting the Games but rather bidding on the games 7. To arrive at the results, Rose and Spiegel 7 used Tetradic Estimates ; however, three pairs of countries and timelines were used rather that two.
This calculation helps to avoid a large number of estimates. The intangible benefits are expressed by cities as a selling point to the citizens even though results are difficult to prove. Outside factors of political corruption are difficult to measure and can have an adverse effect on expected results. Leading up to the Olympics in London, the evidence of a positive legacy could not be determined by the Economic Development Committee.
The measurements for success were taken in a perception study that interviewed professionals in the field of physical education.
Searching for intangible gains in Olympic legacy, this study attempted to look beyond the cost and benefits. Subjects of the study used the Pan American Games as a predictor of the Olympic effect on the community.
Some forests, such as the Olympic National Park in Washington, United States, have been protected for future generations by preserves or national parks. The word forest broadly describes an area that has a large number of trees. There are three general types of forest that exist: temperate, tropical, and boreal. Temperate forests are found across eastern North America and Eurasia. The temperatures of temperate forests vary throughout the year because of the four distinct seasons at these latitudes.
Precipitation is abundant and lends to fertile soil that is able to support diverse flora like maples, oak, and birch. Deer, squirrels, and bears are just a few examples of the fauna that call temperate forests home. Tropical forests are common to areas near the equator, such as Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America. Tropical rainforests are the epitome of biodiversity. Animals include the endangered harpy eagle Harpia harpyja —a large predatory bird—which has become scarce throughout Central and South America, largely due to habitat loss.
Bonobos Pan paniscus , an ape species that calls the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa their home, are also endangered. Deforestation and poaching for human sustenance have caused their populations to decline. Tropical mangrove forests, characterized by trees and shrubs that grow in salty or brackish water, are found in the tropics and subtropics.
The red mangrove forest on the Panamanian island of Escudo de Veragua is home to the critically endangered pygmy three-toed sloth Bradypus pygmaeus.
The third type of forest is the boreal forest , also known as taiga.
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