Nez Perce National Historical Park - Trees and Shrubs

The traditional homeland of the Nimiipuu was a mix of grassland and conifer forest. The majority of the mountains in the central homeland were formed by granitic intrusions forcing the local terrain upwards to elevations as high as 7,000 feet. The entire area is deeply dissected by rivers and streams, creating local relief of greater than 3,000 feet in many areas.

These ranges are marked with distinctive elevation zones of vegetation. Douglas-fir is the dominant conifer below the subalpine zone in many areas, while mountain hemlock dominates others. Below this, western redcedar and western hemlock dominate, but Douglas-fir, western white pine, western larch, and ponderosa pine are also found. Lodgepole pine and grasses dominate in the basin-and-ranges. Tree species were used for tepee poles, canoes, fires, and a wide variety of other needs by the Nimiipuu.