Blue Mountain (Washington)

Last updated
Blue Mountain
West aspect of Blue Mountain at sunset.jpg
West aspect, viewed from Hurricane Ridge Road
Highest point
Elevation 6,004 ft (1,830 m) [1]
Prominence 1,107 ft (337 m) [2]
Parent peak Maiden Peak (6,434 ft) [2]
Isolation 3.14 mi (5.05 km) [2]
Coordinates 47°57′16″N123°15′34″W / 47.9545206°N 123.2594388°W / 47.9545206; -123.2594388 Coordinates: 47°57′16″N123°15′34″W / 47.9545206°N 123.2594388°W / 47.9545206; -123.2594388 [1]
Geography
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Blue Mountain
Location of Blue Mountain in Washington
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Blue Mountain
Blue Mountain (the United States)
Location Olympic National Park
Clallam County, Washington, US
Parent range Olympic Mountains
Topo map USGS Maiden Peak
Geology
Age of rock Eocene
Climbing
Easiest route class 1 walking

Blue Mountain is a 6,004-foot-elevation (1,830 meter) mountain summit located within Olympic National Park in Clallam County of Washington state. Blue Mountain is situated in the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness, 13 miles southeast of Port Angeles and 11 miles southwest of Sequim. Topographic relief is significant as the south aspect rises 4,000 feet (1,220 meters) above Gray Wolf River in approximately 2.5 miles. The mountain's name is due to a soft, blue haze that forms around the mountain in the summer. [3] New settlers to the Olympic Peninsula near the end of the 19th century brought devastating fires started by land clearing and logging activities. [4] The Dungeness Fire of 1891 burned about 30,000 acres, destroying much of the forest around Blue Mountain. [3]

Contents

Access is via the 19-mile Deer Park Road, and the summit can be reached by walking the half-mile Rain Shadow Loop Trail which gains 170 feet of elevation from road's end. [5] The trail is so named because Blue Mountain lies within the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, receiving 50 inches of precipitation annually compared to more than 200 inches on Mount Olympus, 23 miles distant. [6] Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca via Maiden Creek, Siebert Creek, McDonald Creek, Canyon Creek, and Gray Wolf River. The summit offers a view of the San Juan Islands, Victoria across the strait on Vancouver Island, Canada, and on a clear day the eye can see as far as Mount Baker, 87 miles away. The endemic Olympic bellflower can be found near the summit. [5]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Blue Mountain is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America. [7] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Olympic Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall (Orographic lift). As a result, the Olympics experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer.

Geology

The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust. [8] The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.

See also

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Mount Fitzhenry

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Mount Fairchild

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Martin Peak (Olympic Mountains)

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Mount Mathias

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Aries (mountain)

Aries is a 6,533-foot (1,991-metre) mountain summit located within Olympic National Park in Jefferson County of Washington state. Its neighbors include Mount Olympus, 2.46 mi (3.96 km) to the west, Athena 1.7 mi (2.7 km) to the southwest, and Mount Mathias 1.11 mi (1.79 km) to the northwest. Aries is wedged between the Hoh Glacier and the Humes Glacier, and immediately northeast of Blizzard Pass. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into headwaters of the Queets and Hoh Rivers. This mountain was named by glaciologists Richard Hubley and Edward LaChapelle in 1955, in preparation for the International Geophysical Year. It is named for Aries in keeping with the Greek and Roman mythology naming theme surrounding Mount Olympus.

Muncaster Mountain

Muncaster Mountain is a 5,910-foot (1,800-metre) mountain summit located within Olympic National Park in Jefferson County of Washington state. It is situated 4.4 mi (7.1 km) south-southeast of Mount Christie, and 14.6 mi (23.5 km) southeast of Mount Olympus. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into Rustler Creek, which is a tributary of the Quinault River. Although modest in elevation, relief is significant as the summit rises 4,000 feet above the Rustler Creek valley in one mile.

Mount Lena (Washington)

Mount Lena is a 5,995-foot-elevation mountain summit located in the Olympic Mountains, in Jefferson County of Washington state. It is situated within Olympic National Park, immediately north and 1,500 feet above the shore of Upper Lena Lake. Mt. Lena has a subsidiary peak, East Peak (5800+ ft/1768+ m), which lies northeast of the lake. Mount Bretherton lies across the lake to the south, Mount Stone is three miles to the southwest, and The Brothers approximately 3.5 miles to the northeast. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north to the Duckabush River, and south into the Hamma Hamma River via Lena Creek. The non-technical ascent of Mount Lena involves hiking eight miles (one-way) and 5,300 feet elevation gain via the Upper Lena Lake Trail and cross-country above the lake, with most favorable conditions from July through September. There are pleasant campsites at the lake, and the ascent to the summit takes 1.5 hour from the lake. This mountain's name has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

Chimney Peak (Olympic Mountains)

Chimney Peak is a 6,917-foot-elevation (2,108 meter) mountain summit located within Olympic National Park in Jefferson County of Washington state. Chimney Peak is situated near the head of Elwha Valley, and immediately north above Enchanted Valley. Topographic relief is significant as the southeast aspect rises 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) above Enchanted Valley in less than one mile. Enchanted Valley is also known as Valley of 10,000 Waterfalls, and numerous waterfalls tumble down the immense cliffs of Chimney Peak. Neighbors include Crystal Peak, 2.2 mi (3.5 km) to the north, White Mountain 3.5 mi (5.6 km) to the east, and West Peak 3.4 mi (5.5 km) to the northeast. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north to the Elwha River, and south to the Quinault River.

Crystal Peak (Olympic Mountains)

Crystal Peak is a 6,896-foot-elevation (2,102 meter) mountain summit located within Olympic National Park in Jefferson County of Washington state. Crystal Peak is situated two miles north of Enchanted Valley, near the heads of Hayes River and Quinault River. Topographic relief is significant as the northeast aspect rises 3,300 feet (1,006 meters) above Hayes River in less than one mile. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north to the Elwha River via Hayes River and Godkin Creek. Neighbors include line parent Chimney Peak, 2.2 mi (3.5 km) to the south, and proximate parent West Peak, 2.0 mi (3.2 km) to the east. The lower slopes of the mountain are surrounded by Western Red Cedar, Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, Alaskan Cedar, Mountain Hemlock, and Douglas-fir of the Quinault Rainforest.

Mount Cameron (Washington)

Mount Cameron is a 7,190-foot-elevation (2,192 meter) triple-summit mountain located within Olympic National Park in Jefferson County of Washington state. Mount Cameron is situated 21 miles southwest of Sequim, and set within the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness. Topographic relief is significant as the southeast aspect rises over 3,300 feet (1,006 meters) above the Dosewallips River in approximately one mile. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains south into the Dosewallips River, north to the Gray Wolf River via Cameron Creek, and west into headwaters of Lost River. Neighbors include line parent Mount Deception, 4.5 mi (7.2 km) to the east, and proximate parent Mount Johnson, 4.5 mi (7.2 km) to the east.

Unicorn Peak (Olympic Mountains)

Unicorn Peak is a 5,100-foot-elevation (1,554 meter) mountain summit located within Olympic National Park in Clallam County of Washington state. Unicorn Peak is situated seven miles southwest of Port Angeles and three miles north-northwest of the park's Hurricane Ridge visitor center, in Daniel J. Evans Wilderness. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains west to the Elwha River via Little River and Griff Creek. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) above the Elwha valley in approximately three miles.

References

  1. 1 2 "Blue Mountain". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  2. 1 2 3 "Blue Mountain - 6,007' WA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  3. 1 2 Parratt, Smitty (1984). Gods and Goblins: A Field Guide to Place Names of Olympic National Park (1st ed.).
  4. "Fire History - Olympic National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". nps.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  5. 1 2 "Deer Park Area Brochure - Olympic National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". nps.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  6. Alan Leftridge, 2017, The Best of Olympic National Park, Farcountry Press, ISBN   9781560376620
  7. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN   1027-5606.
  8. Alt, D.D.; Hyndman, D.W. (1984). Roadside Geology of Washington. pp. 249–259. ISBN   0-87842-160-2.

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