The Lost Forest in Christmas Valley, Oregon

In the Pleistocene, ponderosa pine forests extended much farther east into central Oregon than they do at present, reflecting the cooler, wetter climate then prevailing. As the climate warmed and dried, these forests were largely replaced by the current scrub vegetation, including sagebrush, juniper, pinyon pine, and similar arid-adapted species. The exception is here, where a sparse stand of ponderosa pine lingers among the more typical scrub vegetation such as juniper and sagebrush. This remnant forest now lies over 40 miles from the nearest other ponderosa pine occurrences and somehow manag

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