This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here . Tucked deep in Pennsylvania’s verdant southwest pocket, at the elbow of a river flowing south to north, is one of the commonwealth’s wettest places.
Fayette County’s Ohiopyle State Park, named for its waterfalls, sees an exceptional amount of precipitation each year. It is lush. It is biodiverse.
But is it a rainforest? Appalachia claims several temperate (not tropical) rainforests, and at least one website lists Ohiopyle State Park as a northernmost example. The park appears to meet several criteria established in 1991 by forest ecologist Paul Alaback, the internet’s preferred temperate rainforest standard-setter. It has infrequent fires, relatively mild temperatures, and a dormant plant season coinciding with winter.
But it falls short — just short — of a critical metric. “Alaback’s definition is annual rainfall greater than 1,400 mm,” Ben Lee, a former postdoctoral research fellow in biology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, explained by email. “While not an authoritative source, this reference lists Ohiopyle’s annual rainfall at 54.
21 inches, or ~1,370 mm per year, so just under the threshold. ..
. As far as I am aware, there is nowhere in Pennsylvania that would be considered a temperate rainforest.” Data from the park�.
