The Forest Guardian

Coast redwoods grow in a narrow strip along the Pacific, from Monterey County, California, to the southwest corner of Oregon. The strip is only a few miles to about forty-five miles wide, and it exists because of the fog.

In the dry months fog condenses on the foliage and drips to the ground. Researchers estimate it may supply roughly 30 percent of a tree's water over the year, which helps carry the forest through summers that are close to rainless.

The tallest known tree on Earth is a coast redwood named Hyperion, found in Redwood National Park in 2006 and measured at about 380 feet. Redwoods have reached ages of around 2,000 years, and the oldest known may be about 2,200.

In this picture the bear is cropped at the top edge, so only his nose and muzzle show, and below them redwood trunks take the place of his shoulders and chest. Sunlight pours down between the trunks, a creek runs out at the bottom, and ferns and young conifers fill his arms. The washes of ochre and gray behind him look like old paper.