Mount Townsend (Washington)

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Mount Townsend
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Summit from the Mt. Townsend Trail.
Highest point
Elevation 6,243 ft (1,903 m) [1]
Prominence 600 ft (180 m) [2]
Coordinates 47°52′01″N123°03′35″W / 47.8670352°N 123.059615°W / 47.8670352; -123.059615 [1]
Geography
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Mount Townsend
Washington
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Mount Townsend
Mount Townsend (the United States)
CountryUnited States
State Washington
County Jefferson
Protected area Buckhorn Wilderness
Parent range Olympic Mountains
Topo map USGS Mount Townsend
Climbing
Easiest route Mt. Townsend Trail

Mount Townsend is a mountain in the U.S state of Washington located within the Buckhorn Wilderness near Quilcene. [3]

Contents

Recreation

The Mt. Townsend Trail rises from the trailhead to the summit, a rise of 3,010 ft (920 m). The summit affords a 360 degree view of the area. [4]

Climate

Townsend from northeast at Mt. Zion Mt. Townsend from Mt. Zion.jpg
Townsend from northeast at Mt. Zion

Mount Townsend is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America. [5] 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. [6] 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. [6]

Geology

South aspect Mount Townsend, south.jpg
South aspect

The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust. [7] The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Mount Townsend". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Mount Townsend, Washington". Peakbagger.com.
  3. ↑ "USDA Forest Service: Mt. Townsend Trail #839" . Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Washington Trails Association: Mount Townsend" . Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. 1 2 McNulty, Tim (2009). Olympic National Park: A Natural History. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press.
  7. ↑ Alt, D.D.; Hyndman, D.W. (1984). Roadside Geology of Washington. pp. 249–259. ISBN   0-87842-160-2.


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