One Square Inch in the Rainforest
Posted September 28th, 2007 in [hide]It’s bitterly ironic that the Pacific Northwest is home to one of the world’s remaining pockets of linguistic diversity - the others are in the Amazon, Siberia and 
Oklahoma - and at the same time home to the quietest place in North America. It should come as no surprise that both are in danger from the Brave New World.
One Square Inch of Silence is a research institution, independent of the National Park Service. Gordon Hempton traveled the country measuring soundscapes and their makeup. His projects don’t quiet with silence; the results of the national survey showed the quietest spot in continental America to be in the Hoh rain forest. Woodpeckers, owls and eagle, bear, caribou, and other wildlife aren’t exactly abundant, but they aren’t rare either. However, in the northwestern corner of the Continental US, with almost no roads into the park, the isolation is extreme. Combined with a usual blanket of fog and deep forest, the entire peninsula feels like a sanctuary from the modern world.
Regretfully, I haven’t made it west of the Olympic Range, so I can’t personally attest to the quietude of the Hoh Valley. These photos are from the coastal rainforest, but further south along the Pacific. Californians call a giant stretch of a few hundred miles “the Central Coast,” which includes Big Sur and Big Basin, where these were shot. I’ve shown other photos from the Cascade rainforests ( from the Carbon River and Mowich Lake ), but while these are further south, they’re similar in character; more lush, and closer to the ocean.
Ain’t that some tree hugger waste of time? Still, it’s some nice pictures, son.
I promise no trees were hugged during the filming of these stills. One of them may have been camera shy, though … if you think it needs a hug, you can follow the Google Map above.