Siuslaw National Forest
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Siuslaw National Forest
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location	Oregon, USA
Nearest city	Corvallis, Oregon
Coordinates	44°20′00″N 123°55′00″W / 44.333333, -123.916667
Area	630,000 acres (2,500 km2)
Established	1908
Visitors	1,856,0001 (in 2006)
Governing body	United States Forest Service

Map of the Siuslaw National Forest and surrounding areas.

Siuslaw National Forest (pronounced /sаɪ ˈjuː slɔː/, or, for native English speakers, sigh YEW slaw)² is a national forest in western Oregon. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes.

Geography

The Siuslaw National Forest encompasses more than 630,000 acres (2,500 km²) along the central Oregon Coast, between Coos Bay and Tillamook,³ and in some places extends east from the ocean, beyond the crest of the Oregon Coast Range, almost reaching the Willamette Valley.⁴ Parts of the Forest can be found in Benton, Coos, Douglas, Lane, Lincoln, Polk, Tillamook, and Yamhill Counties, and include the Sand Lake Recreation Area and the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. The Forest Supervisor's office is located in Corvallis, Oregon, and the Siuslaw is broken up into two ranger districts - the Hebo Ranger District, with approximately 151,000 acres (610 km²), and the Central Coast Ranger District, with approximately 479,000 acres (1,940 km²).⁵

Points of interest

Sand dunes at Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

The Forest contains Marys Peak, the highest point in Oregon's Coast Range at 4097 ft (1249 m). Numerous aquatic habitats are found in the forest: marine shore, rivers and streams (1,200 miles, including the Alsea, Nestucca, Siuslaw, and Umpqua rivers), and 30 lakes.⁴ The terrestrial environment can be regarded as two major vegetation zones, one near the coast dominated by Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis), and the other dominated by Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii).

Recreational activities

Recreational activities in the Siuslaw National Forest include fishing, camping, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, exploring tide pools, and riding off highway vehicles.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Siuslaw National Forest

• Siuslaw National Forest - US Forest Service

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