Mount Pershing

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Mount Pershing
Mount Pershing.jpg
Mount Pershing (left) seen from West Seattle
(Jefferson Peak to the right)
Highest point
Elevation 6,154 ft (1,876 m) [1]
Prominence 1,114 ft (340 m) [1]
Parent peak Mount Washington (6,260 ft) [2]
Isolation 1.53 mi (2.46 km) [2]
Coordinates 47°33′08″N123°15′22″W / 47.552125°N 123.255973°W / 47.552125; -123.255973 [1]
Naming
Etymology John J. Pershing
Geography
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Mount Pershing
Location of Mount Pershing in Washington
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Mount Pershing
Mount Pershing (the United States)
CountryUnited States
State Washington
County Mason
Protected area Mount Skokomish Wilderness
Parent range Olympic Mountains
Topo map USGS Mount Skokomish
Geology
Rock age Eocene
Rock type pillow basalt
Climbing
First ascent 1939 by Don Dooley, Robert Henderson, Walt Ingalls, and Bob Mandelhorn [3]
Easiest route class 3 scrambling via South Ridge [3]

Mount Pershing is a 6,154-foot-elevation (1,876-meter) massif in Mason County of Washington state, United States. [4] Part of the Olympic Mountains, it is situated in the Mount Skokomish Wilderness on land managed by Olympic National Forest. The mountain's toponym honors General of the Armies John J. Pershing (1860–1948). [5] The nearest higher neighbor is Mount Washington, 1.45 mi (2.33 km) to the south-southeast. [1] Precipitation runoff from its slopes drains into the Hamma Hamma River.

Contents

Climate

Mount Pershing is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America. [6] Weather fronts originating in the Pacific Ocean travel northeast toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snow. As a result, the Olympics experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. [7] Because of maritime influence, snow tends to be wet and heavy, resulting in avalanche danger. 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. [7] The months May through August offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing this mountain. [3]

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mount Pershing". Peakbagger.com.
  2. 1 2 "Pershing, Mount - 6,154' WA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Mount Pershing, climbersguideolympics.com
  4. "Mount Pershing". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  5. Olympic Mountain Rescue, Olympic Mountains: A Climbing Guide, 4th Edition, 2006, Mountaineers Books, ISBN   9780898862065, page 60.
  6. Peel, M.C.; Finlayson, B.L. & McMahon, T.A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification" (PDF). Hydrology and Earth System Sciences . 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi: 10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 . Archived (PDF) from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  7. 1 2 McNulty, Tim (2009). Olympic National Park: A Natural History. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press.
  8. Alt, D.D.; Hyndman, D.W. (1984). Roadside Geology of Washington. pp. 249–259. ISBN   0-87842-160-2.