Chapter 2. Ecosystem Profile
CHAPTER 2. ECOSYSTEM PROFILE 2.1 Introduction Kittitas County is situated in central Washington on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains, between the Cascade Crest and the Columbia River in the Columbia River basin. The county is contained within three major basins: Upper Yakima (Water Resource Inventory Area [WRIA] 39), Alkali – Squilchuck (WRIA 40), and Naches basin (WRIA 38). Of the 2,297 square miles that constitutes Kittitas County, the majority, 78 percent, lies within the Upper Yakima basin (WRIA 39), which drains into the Yakima River. The Alkali – Squilchuck basin (WRIA 40) comprises 17 percent of the county in the eastern portion and drains into the Columbia River. The remaining 5 percent of the county is contained in the Naches basin (WRIA 38) on its southwestern edge and drains into the Little Naches River, which becomes the Naches River joining the Yakima River in Yakima County. Figure 2-1 shows the locations of the WRIAs in Kittitas County. Four different ecoregions are found within Kittitas County: North Cascades, Cascades, Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills, and Columbia Plateau (Figure 2-2). The North Cascades ecoregion, found in the northwestern portion of the county, is characterized by glaciated valleys and narrow-crested ridges punctuated by rugged, high relief peaks approaching 8,000 feet above mean sea level (AMSL). It is forested with fir, hemlock, and, in the drier eastern margins, pine. The Cascades ecoregion, located in southwestern Kittitas County, is similar to the North Cascades, but in contrast has more gently undulating terrain, the climate is more temperate, and there is less occurrence of ponderosa pine.
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