>>2770181High elevation (Taiga/Hudsonian zone) subalpine conifer forest and meadow, largely unmixed conifer forest (mostly spruce and firs but also pines, larches and aspen among others, usually 70%+ conifer). Mostly found in the western US, Europe, and north Asia. Precipitation can range from as low as 15-18 inches (380-460mm) in colder and drier areas to as high as 80+ inches (2m) in oceanic areas, and winter snowfall is moderate to heavy often no less than 20 inches (0.5m) to as high as 800 inches (20m) in the western US (which has both the drier colder type in the interior and the very very wet oceanic type in the coastal PNW). The unmixed nature of these forests is due to the fact that the only species that can survive their conditions at high elevations, often steep slopes and rocky soils, and cold and snowy winters, are some conifer species. The dense mixed conifer-deciduous forest zone is just below this zone in elevation, tundra is above it.
