Many of us are familiar with rainforests; lush and exotic environments that serve as the pinnacle of life on Earth. For the most part we assume these only occur throughout the tropics, but as it turns out certain areas in the temperate latitudes can receive just as much rainfall, creating a number of rainforests in unexpected places.

Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. … The moist conditions of temperate rain forests generally support an understory of mosses, ferns and some shrubs and berries.