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Decomposing Leaf, Washington, 1984

A decomposing leaf leaves only a delicate reminder of itself on a log. Receiving upward of 140 inches (355 centimeters) of rain annually, the Hoh River Valley is home to one of North America's only temperate rain forests. These unique environmental conditions lead to amazing rates of decomposition.

(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Olympic Peninsula," May 1984, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by Sam Abell