Biomes of Idaho and the Northwest
Idaho and the Northwest is an incredibly diverse region climatically, so it makes sense that it would also be a diverse region biologically. When Lewis and Clark first made the journey through this region over 200 years ago, they found an amazing array of flora and fauna that had never been seen or recorded by white people before. Unlike the portion of their journey across the high plains east of the Rocky Mountains, where they saw many of the same plants and animals for weeks on end, their descent into the Columbia Basin provided new and interesting specimens nearly every day. This was due, in part, to the steep elevational gradient they descended from Lolo Pass as they pushed westward to the Pacific Ocean.
Click on the map below to enlarge it, and answer the following questions:
1. How many Level III ecoregions are there in Idaho? (HINT: Look at the legend to distinguish Level III from Level IV ecoregions)
2. What Level IV ecoregion is Moscow a part of?
3. Find Crater Lake National Park on the map. Most of the park covers one ecoregion, but the high elevation rim area right around the lake is associated with a second ecoregion. What two Level IV ecoregions does Crater Lake contain?
4. In Google or another search browser, look up the ecoregion that comprises most of Crater Lake National Park (4e on the map). What tree species are associated with this ecoregion?
5. Find Lewiston, ID on the map. Trace the Snake River west from Lewiston towards its confluence with the Columbia River, and then trace the Columbia all the way out to the Pacific Ocean. How many Level IV ecoregions did Lewis and Clark pass through as they floated their canoes from present-day Lewiston to the Pacific?
Click on the map below to enlarge it, and answer the following questions:
1. How many Level III ecoregions are there in Idaho? (HINT: Look at the legend to distinguish Level III from Level IV ecoregions)
2. What Level IV ecoregion is Moscow a part of?
3. Find Crater Lake National Park on the map. Most of the park covers one ecoregion, but the high elevation rim area right around the lake is associated with a second ecoregion. What two Level IV ecoregions does Crater Lake contain?
4. In Google or another search browser, look up the ecoregion that comprises most of Crater Lake National Park (4e on the map). What tree species are associated with this ecoregion?
5. Find Lewiston, ID on the map. Trace the Snake River west from Lewiston towards its confluence with the Columbia River, and then trace the Columbia all the way out to the Pacific Ocean. How many Level IV ecoregions did Lewis and Clark pass through as they floated their canoes from present-day Lewiston to the Pacific?
As Lewis and Clark traveled, they collected specimens of flora and fauna that had never been seen before to take back to museums in the eastern US. Some of these species were critical to the native people who lived in the northwest before Euro-American settlers came here. Click HERE to open a map of where Lewis and Clark collected native northwest species, and answer the following questions:
1. Click on or scroll down to collection location #5. This plant is one of the first of spring and the roots were widely eaten as a treat after the long winter. What is it?
2. Look for collection location #13 at Fort Clatsop near the mouth of the Columbia River. Salal had important uses among the native Clatsop people. What were two of those uses?
1. Click on or scroll down to collection location #5. This plant is one of the first of spring and the roots were widely eaten as a treat after the long winter. What is it?
2. Look for collection location #13 at Fort Clatsop near the mouth of the Columbia River. Salal had important uses among the native Clatsop people. What were two of those uses?