North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than 500,000 acres (200,000 ha), it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Park consists of a northern and southern section, bisected by the Skagit River that flows through the reservoirs of Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area lies on the southern border of the south unit of the park. In addition to the two national recreation areas, other protected lands including several national forests and wilderness areas, as well as Canadian provincial parks in British Columbia, nearly surround the park. North Cascades National Park features the rugged mountain peaks of the North Cascades Range, the most expansive glacial system in the contiguous United States, the headwaters of numerous waterways, and vast forests with the highest degree of flora biodiversity of any American national park.
Chelan County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 79,074. The county seat and largest city is Wenatchee. The county was created out of Okanogan and Kittitas Counties on March 13, 1899. It derives its name from a Chelan Indian word meaning "deep water," likely a reference to 55-mile (89 km)-long Lake Chelan, which reaches a maximum depth of 1,486 feet (453 m).
The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in the U.S. and Canada as the Cascade Mountains. The portion in Canada is known to Americans as the Canadian Cascades, a designation that also includes the mountains above the east bank of the Fraser Canyon as far north as the town of Lytton, at the confluence of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers.
The Okanogan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Okanogan County in north-central Washington, United States.
The Wenatchee Mountains are a range of mountains in central Washington State, United States of America. A major subrange of the Cascade Range, extending east 50 miles (80 km) from the Cascade crest, the Wenatchee Mountains separate the drainage basins of the Yakima River from the Wenatchee River. The crest of the range forms part of the boundary between Chelan and Kittitas Counties.
Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington. With an area of 1,735,394 acres, it extends about 137 miles along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range of Washington, USA from Okanogan National Forest to Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The forest is located in Chelan, Kittitas and Yakima counties.
The Entiat River is a tributary of the Columbia River, joining the Columbia near Entiat. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) lists two variant names for the Entiat River: En-ti-at-kwa River and Entiatqua River. The river's name is derived from the Columbia-Moses (Salishan) term /nt'yátkw/ [nt'iátkw], meaning "place of grassy water"; another source states that it was called Enteatqua which means "Rapid Water" or "Rushing Water." The name, spelled "Entiat", was selected for the river in 1958 by the Chelan County Public Utility District.
The Chiwawa River is a tributary of the Wenatchee River, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is completely contained within Chelan County.
The geography of the North Cascades describes a range of rugged mountains in British Columbia, Canada and Washington, United States. In Canada, the range is officially named the Cascade Mountains but is commonly referred to as the Canadian Cascades.
Mount Fernow is a tall peak in the North Cascades in the U.S. state of Washington and within the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the Wenatchee National Forest. At 9,249 feet (2,819 m) in elevation it is the eighth-highest peak in Washington and the state's third-highest non-volcanic peak. It is also the highest peak of the Entiat Mountains, a sub-range of the Cascades. Mount Fernow's prominence is 2,811 ft (857 m), making it the sixtieth-most-prominent peak in Washington. The closest peak to Fernow is Copper Peak, 0.88 mi (1.42 km) to the north, and the nearest higher peak is Bonanza Peak, 5.9 mi (9.5 km) to the north.
Seven Fingered Jack is a mountain in the North Cascades in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located at the north end of the Entiat Mountains, a sub-range of the Cascade Range. It is part of a three-peak group called the Entiat Cirque which includes Mount Maude and Mount Fernow. Seven Fingered Jack is about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Holden. The peak is in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of Wenatchee National Forest.
The Chelan Mountains, or Chelan Range is a mountain range in the U.S. state of Washington. Located west of the Columbia River, north of the Entiat River, and south of Lake Chelan, the range is part of the North Cascades section of the Cascade Range. The Chelan Range is about 40 mi (64 km) long northwest to southeast and about 8 mi (13 km) wide, southwest to northeast.
Albert Hale Sylvester was a pioneer surveyor, explorer, and forest supervisor in the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Washington. He was a topographer for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in the Snoqualmie Ranger District between 1897 and 1907. Then, from 1908 to 1931, he served the United States Forest Service as the first forest supervisor of Wenatchee National Forest. His work involved the first detailed surveying and mapping of large portions of the Cascade Range in Washington, over the course of which he gave names to over 1,000 natural features. The surveying work often required placing cairns and other survey targets on top of mountains. He made the first ascents of a number of mountains in Washington. Over the course of his career he explored areas previously unknown to non-indigenous people. One such area, which Sylvester discovered, explored, and named, is The Enchantments. In 1944, while leading a party of friends to one of his favorite parts of the mountains, Sylvester was mortally wounded when his horse panicked and lost his footing on a steep and rocky slope.
Cardinal Peak is the highest peak of the Chelan Mountains, a subrange of the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in Wenatchee National Forest at the head of the Entiat River drainage basin, in Chelan County. To the west and north, streams flow into Lake Chelan. Cardinal Peak is less than 5 miles (8.0 km) from the lake and rises 7,500 feet (2,300 m) above the lakeshore. At 8,595 feet (2,620 m) high, it is the 49th highest peak in Washington. Its 2,070-foot (630 m) prominence ranks 132nd in the state.
The 2014 Washington wildfires were a series of 1,480 wildfires that burned 386,972 acres (1,566 km2) over the course of 2014. The first occurred primarily on the east side of the Cascade Range in Chelan and Okanogan counties. The fires burned private land, state land, and within the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests, ultimately covering over 350,000 acres. The first fire began on July 8 near the Entiat River. On July 14 a lightning storm started dozens more fires across the eastern Cascade Range. Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency, activating the Washington National Guard. More lightning strikes later in the summer started additional fires.
Saska Peak is an 8,404 ft (2,560 m) mountain summit located in the Chelan Mountains, in Chelan County of Washington state. The mountain is situated in Glacier Peak Wilderness of the North Cascades, on land managed by Wenatchee National Forest. Saska Peak ranks as the third-highest peak in the Chelan Mountains, and 74th-highest summit in Washington state. Its nearest higher neighbor is Emerald Peak, 0.66 mi (1.06 km) to the east-northeast, and Cardinal Peak is positioned 1.52 mi (2.45 km) to the east-southeast. These three highest peaks of the Chelan Mountains enclose the head of North Fork Entiat River valley. Precipitation runoff from the peak drains into the Entiat River drainage basin. The mountain's name honors Shil-how-Saskt, Tribal chief of the Entiat people, and was applied by Albert Hale Sylvester (1871-1944), a pioneer surveyor, topographer, and forest supervisor who named thousands of geographic features in the Cascades. In the Columbia-Moses language (Salishan), this name means "Standing in the middle of the sky."
Pinnacle Mountain is an 8,400+ ft granitic multi-peak massif located in the Chelan Mountains, in Chelan County of Washington state. The mountain is situated in Glacier Peak Wilderness of the North Cascades, on land managed by Wenatchee National Forest. Fred Beckey's Cascade Alpine Guide has the elevation of the highest pinnacle as 8,402 feet. Pinnacle Mountain ranks as the fourth-highest peak in the Chelan Mountains, and 75th-highest summit in Washington state. Its nearest higher neighbor is Saska Peak, 1.9 mi (3.1 km) to the southeast, and Emerald Peak is positioned 2.25 mi (3.62 km) to the east-southeast. Precipitation runoff from the peak drains into the Entiat River and Chelan River drainage basins.
Chilly Peak is a 7,960+ ft mountain summit located in the Entiat Mountains, a sub-range of the North Cascades, in Chelan County of Washington state. It ranks as 192nd of Washington's highest 200 peaks. Its nearest higher neighbor is Ice Box, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) to the northwest, and Spectacle Buttes are set 2.1 miles (3.4 km) to the north-northeast. Chilly Peak is situated 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Ice Lakes in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains east into Ice Creek which is a tributary of the Entiat River, or west into Rock Creek, a tributary of the Chiwawa River.
Carne Mountain is a 7,080+ ft double-summit mountain located in the Entiat Mountains, a sub-range of the North Cascades, in Chelan County of Washington state. Carne Mountain is situated on the boundary of the Glacier Peak Wilderness, on land managed by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. Its nearest higher neighbor is Chilly Peak, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the northeast, and Ice Box is set 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to the north. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains east into Rock Creek, or west into Phelps Creek, both tributaries of the Chiwawa River. This peak can be accessed via the 3.7-mile Carne Mountain Trail which gains 3,600 feet of elevation. The mountain once had a fire lookout building on its south peak. Views from the top include Bandit Peak, Brahma Peak, Buck Mountain, Fortress Mountain, Chiwawa Mountain, Mount Maude, Ice Box, and Chilly. This mountain was named by Albert Hale Sylvester for English clergyman W. Stanely Carnes. This feature is pronounced "karn".
