- The Maoke Plate is a small tectonic plate located in western New Guinea underlying the Sudirman Range from which the highest mountain on the island- Puncak Jaya rises. To its east was proposed a convergent boundary with the Woodlark Plate, although this is now best modelled after further studies as a boundary with an enlarged Solomon Sea Plate or a new microplate called the Trobriand Plate. To the south lies a transform boundary with the Australian Plate and the Bird’s Head Plate lies to the west.
- Morning Star Natural Resources Conservation Area (dnr.wa.gov)
This 37,842-acre mountainous conservation area protects outstanding examples of native plant communities and other ecological features, such as subalpine meadows, wetlands, and lakes. Six plant species rare to Washington state occur within these habitats. The site is also large enough to provide important habitat for threatened and endangered wide-ranging wildlife such as Pacific fisher, grizzly bear, and gray wolf. The NRCA protects the middle and high elevations around the Spada Lake basin, which captures warm moist air as it moves inland from Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean to create one of the wettest areas in the North Cascade Mountains. High precipitation and cool temperatures cause subalpine plant communities to occur at unusually low elevations in this region.