The steep mountains towering above McDonald Creek act as huge barriers to moisture-laden prevailing westerly winds. As these air currents are forced up and over these high mountains, the air mass cools causing the moisture to condense out. The resulting rain and snow here on the western side of the continental divide supports a rich variety of plants and groves of huge old-growth cedars and Douglas fir along these valley bottoms. If you were to travel a mere 15 miles to the east, on the rain-shadow side of the divide, you would see plant communities which reflect the much drier conditions found there. McDonald Creek runs clear and cold behind this grove of cedar as it drains the huge upper McDonald Creek valley on its way to glacier-gouged Lake McDonald. This panoramic photograph was captured with a 6x17 panorama format camera. All photos in these fine art photo galleries may be ordered as fine art framed prints or for stock photography usage.