Appalachian temperate rainforest
The Appalachian temperate rainforest is located in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the eastern U.S. About 351,500 square kilometers (135,000 square miles) of forest land is spread across eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, western North Carolina, the northwestern portion of South Carolina, northern Georgia, northern Alabama, and eastern Tennessee. The annual precipitation is more than . The Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest is a temperate rainforest located in the higher elevations in southwestern Virginia, western North Carolina and East Tennessee. Fir is dominant at higher elevation, spruce at middle elevation, and mixed forests at low elevation. Climate The Appalachian temperate rainforest has a cool and mild climate. The mean annual low temperature is and high is . High altitudes of the rainforest receive less than of precipitation. This temperate rainforest is classified as a perhumid temperate rainforest. It meets the four criteria of temperate rainforest identified by Alabak, and it has a cool summer, typical transient snow in winter, mean annual temperature of , and summer rainfall is above 10% of overall precipitation. Precipitation in this area incorporates moist air from the Gulf of Mexico , Great Lakes, and western Atlantic Ocean. When the moist air reaches the Appalachian mountains then rain