De I. VNER VEW D Forest Trees of the Pacific Slope

144 FOREST TREES OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE.
(19) North Tule River Forest: Covers entire basin of this stream from second westside
tributary canyon to uppermost east-side one (in north part of T. 19 S., R. 30 E.),
comprising about 6 square miles with north edge just within Sequoia National Park;
elevation, 5,400 to 8,000 feet; large part lumbered and privately owned.
(20) Middle Tule River Forest: One mile south of North Tule Forest on east head
basin of Bear Creek, extending over high divide, also between this basin and Middle
Tule River Canyon, and over east slope of latter stream (in T. 19 and 20 S., R. 30 and
31 E.) ; covers an area of about 6 miles long by 5 miles wide, at 6,000 to 8,000 feet;
large part lumbered ; a part of this forest, but separated from it, is the Silver Creek
Grove of 200 to 250 trees, on south slope of Silver Creek (tributary Middle Tule River)
private ownership.
(21) Alder Creek Forest: One-half mile southeast of Middle Tule Forest, on Alder
Creek (tributary Middle Tule River), 3 miles long by about one-half to 1 mile wide,
extending from head of Ross Creek northward along summit of divide between Hassle
Creek and Middle Tule Canyon to head of (southi Alder Creek, down slope to within
about one half to 1 mile of Middle Tule River; elevation, 5,700 to 7,000 feet; private
ownership.
(22) East Tule Forest: About 2 miles wide by 3 miles long, covering head basin of
East Fork of Tule River (at junction between T. 20 and 21 S., R. 31 and 32 E.), at
5,550 to 7.500 feet elevation; main body begins 2 miles above Nelson's ranch, but
scattered trees occur along canyon bottom to within three-fourths mile of latter ranch;
also detached grove of 250 to 300 trees to southwest on divide between Bear and Marble
creeks; private ownership.
(23) Freeman Creek Forest: On head basin of Freeman Creek (tributary East Fork
of Tule River) about 3 miles long by one-half mile wide, separated by narrow divide
from East Tule Forest ; private ownership.
(24) South Tule Forest: Composed of two parts; one, in East Tule watershed, Is
connected with one in South Tule basin for about 1A miles on divide and also at heads
of Coy and Slate creeks: East Tule part extends from head of Coy Creek westward
to Deadmans Creek ; the largest area, to west of Coy and Slate creeks, is about 3j
miles long, and extends from top of divide down between East and South Tule and
northward down north slope of East Tule for about 1 mile; general elevation, 6,000 to
7,600 feet; South Tule part extends from northeast corner of Tule River Indian Reservation
northeastward 4 or 5 miles, with a width of 2 to 21 miles; elevation, 5,600 to 7,500
feet; private ownership.
(25) Dry Meadow Grove.-Small patch east of Tule Indian Reservation, on head of
Dry Meadow Creek (tributary Kern River, approximately in S. 20, T. 22 S., R. 31 E.).
Government ownership.
(26) Deer Creek Grove.-About 30 large trees at head of South Fork of Deer Creek
(tributary White River), few miles east of Deer River Hot Springs (S. 2, T. 24 S., R.
31 E.).
OCCURRENCE.
Between larger north groves there are breaks of from 40 to 60 miles. From the Kings
River forest southward, groups are less widely separated; a broad belt, broken only by
deep canyons, extends for 70 miles to its southern limit in the Tule River basins. Gaps
between north groves correspond with glacier beds which flowed from main high crest
of Sierras during the glacial epoch. Existing growth is on higher lands from which
ice melted long before it did in the Intervening canyons. Prefers slopes, low ridges,
depressions, and draws near or on headwaters of streams, where soil moisture Is present.
Indifferent to exposure, growing on slopes of every aspect. Prefers conditions of dense
forest, occurring only rarely and of much smaller size in exposed situations. Depth
and quality of soil and abundant moisture are most favorable to best growth. Usually
in deep, porous, sandy, or gravelly soils moistened by contiguous streams or slope runoff;
also grows well on moist, rocky, shallow soils, but less commonly on dry gravelly
or rocky soils. With moisture, the condition of soil apparently has little or no effect on
growth.
Occasionally in pure stands, but usually in mixture. Mostly with sugar pine and
white fir (with Douglas fir at north) ; western yellow pine is often mingled on drier
borders of these forests and groves, as It is also at lower elevations, where also incense
cedar is a very common associate. From a pure stand, big trees may form the principal
part of the forest (as in larger areas), or they may (as in smaller groves) make
up only a small percentage of stands. At higher levels white fir is often the only
associate.
CLIMATIC CONDITIoNs.-The habitat of bigtree is cooler and drier than that of redwood.
At Summit, situated sonme distance north of its range, at an elevation of 7,000
feet, the temperature occasionally falls to -12° F. and never exceeds 100°. Throughout