The 551 ha Steamboat Mountain RNA is located in Skamania County, Washington. The natural area includes the north, west, and south slopes of Steamboat Mountain. Slopes are gentle to steep and elevations range from 1190 to 1654 m. The tract includes three major wet meadows or montane mires, a small lake, and areas of rock outcrops and talus. The three most abundant tree species are Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis), subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), and mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana). A Pacific silver fir/big huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum)/beargrass (Nolina) community is found on the upper two thirds of the southwest slope and on a portion of the northeast slope of Steamboat Mountain. A moist forest dominated by a mountain hemlock/big huckleberry community surrounds small areas of open wetland on the mountain's south and west slopes. The Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) - noble fir (Abies procera) community dominates a band of forest at the base of the southwestern slope with big huckleberry as the most common shrub. A Pacific silver fir/ Cascades azalea (Rhododendron albiflorum) association dominates the slopes on the cooler, northern side of the mountain. Cliffs, rocks, and scree slopes, present along the ridge and northern slope of the summit, contain a wide variety of microhabitats. However, the most floralistically rich areas are the four wetlands found in the southwest and northeast portion of the natural area. The only major natural disturbance in the area has been fire, although there have been no wildfires in over 100 years.

A transect with 1000 square meter permanent circular plots, spaced 100 m apart, was established in 1972.

Township/Range/Section:

Sec 30 and 31, T8N, R9E, and sec 35 and 36, T8N, R8E; small portions in sec 25, T8N, R8E, sec 1, T7N, R8E, and sec 6, T7N, R9E.

Latitude:

46,08N

Longitude:

121,44W

Quad Map:

7 1/2' Steamboat Mountain (1970), Sleeping Beauty (1970), Lone Butte (1965), and Quartz Creek Butte (1965) - scale 1:24,000.

Threatened or Endangered Species:

Exotic Species Present:

Plant Communities:

Abies lasiocarpa forests of the Cascade Range, old-growth Abies amabalis-Tsuga mertensiana and a mixture. Also wet meadows or montane mires, and rock outcrops and tallus. Community types include: A. lasiocarpa/Vaccinium membranaceum/Xerophyllum tenax and A. amabilis-Picea engelmannii-T. mertensiana/V. membranaceum. Also: P. menziesii-A. procera-A. amabilis/V. membranaceum, A. amabilis-T. mertensiana/Rhododendron albiflorum-Vaccinium and A. amabilis/V. membranaceum communities. Cliffs, rocky areas and scree slopes also provide habitat.

Aquatic Features Present:

4 wetlands: a small lake and 3 wetlands which are large bogs or montane mires.

Soils:

Podzols (Cryorthods), Brown Podzolics (Haplorthods), and azonal soils (Cryandepts) developed on Pleistocene and Recent tephra deposits.

Other Physical Features:

Past Disturbance History:

Other Comments:

Access by road