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temperate rainforest
noun
variants
or less commonly temperate rain forest
plural temperate rainforests also temperate rain forests
: woodland of a usually rather mild climatic area within the temperate zone that receives heavy rainfall, usually includes numerous kinds of trees, and is distinguished from a tropical rainforest especially by the presence of a dominant tree
Examples of temperate rainforest in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Although the route doesn’t have all the elements of most via ferratas—no ladders to climb or rungs to monkey around on—the narrow 600-foot crossing, with its bird’s eye view of more than half a dozen hanging glaciers and the lush Chugach temperate rainforest, still requires climbing safety gear.
—Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2024
More than 1,600 species of plants have been identified on this land that spans temperate rainforest to a dry ponderosa pine ecosystem.
—Cnn.com, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2024
Nestled within the unique ecosystem of the world's sole inland temperate rainforest, Revelstoke also boasts exceptionally enchanting tree runs.
—Jonny Bierman, Travel + Leisure, 2 Jan. 2024
That the damp Olympic Peninsula—a region blanketed by temperate rainforest—was ablaze seemed telling.
—Ben Goldfarb, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2023
Right before 34 million years ago, Antarctica’s landscape and flora likely resembled today’s cold temperate rainforests of Tasmania, New Zealand and South America’s Patagonia region, Ross added.
—Reuters, NBC News, 24 Oct. 2023
The rainforest in Yakushima A temperate rainforest stretches across the sub-tropical island, which is another UNESCO World Heritage.
—Tokyo Halfie, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 2023
Yet temperate rainforests harbor their own kind of unique biodiversity.
—Jason Thomson, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Aug. 2023
Highlands is technically in a temperate rainforest, one of two in the United States.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 22 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'temperate rainforest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1903, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of temperate rainforest was
in 1903
Dictionary Entries Near temperate rainforest
Cite this Entry
“Temperate rainforest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/temperate%20rainforest. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
temperate rain forest
noun
: woodland that has a temperate climate with heavy rainfall and that usually includes numerous kinds of trees but differs from a tropical rain forest in having one or two very common major trees
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