Pyramid Peak (Pierce County, Washington)

Pyramid Peak
Pyramid Peak
	Pyramid Peak seen from the southeast
Highest point
Elevation	6,937 ft (2,114 m) [1]
Prominence	497 ft (151 m) [1]
Coordinates	46°48′25″N121°48′43″W / 46.8068426°N 121.8120695°W Coordinates: 46°48′25″N121°48′43″W / 46.8068426°N 121.8120695°W [2]
Geography
	Pyramid Peak Location of Pyramid Peak in Washington Pyramid Peak Pyramid Peak (the United States)
Location	Mount Rainier National Park, Pierce County, Washington, U.S.
Parent range	Cascades
Topo map	USGS Mount Rainier West
Climbing
First ascent	1915 Mountaineers party. [3]
Easiest route	Scrambling

Last updated October 06, 2019

Pyramid Peak is a 6,937-foot (2,114-metre) mountain summit located in Mount Rainier National Park in Pierce County of Washington state.^[2] It is part of the Cascade Range and overlooks the Indian Henry's Hunting Ground. It is situated at the base of the Success Cleaver, south of South Tahoma Glacier, and southwest of Pyramid Glacier. The summit provides views of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount St. Helens, and peaks of the Tatoosh Range. Precipitation runoff from Pyramid Peak drains into Pyramid Creek, Tahoma Creek, and Fishers Horn Pipe Creek, which are all tributaries of the Nisqually River.

Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States, preserving 236,381 acres including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot (4,392 m) stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet (490–4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, Mount Rainier is surrounded by valleys, waterfalls, subalpine meadows, and 91,000 acres of old-growth forest. More than 25 glaciers descend the flanks of the volcano, which is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow.

Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 795,225, making it the second-most populous county in Washington behind King County, and the 63rd-most populous in the United States. The county seat and largest city is Tacoma. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory, it was named for U.S. President Franklin Pierce. Pierce County is in the Seattle metropolitan area.

The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades. The small part of the range in British Columbia is referred to as the Canadian Cascades or, locally, as the Cascade Mountains. The latter term is also sometimes used by Washington residents to refer to the Washington section of the Cascades in addition to North Cascades, the more usual U.S. term, as in North Cascades National Park. The highest peak in the range is Mount Rainier in Washington at 14,411 feet (4,392 m).

History

The descriptive name Pyramid Peak came from its pyramidal shape. An early writer described the peak as follows; "We had a better chance to observe Pyramid Peak in the morning light. It is in the form of a gigantic pyramid, perfect in outline. From a distance it appears to be black basalt, and on its sides no snow clings."^[4] The name was officially adopted in 1913 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.^[2]

The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal government of the United States.

Climate

Pyramid Peak is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.^[3] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel northeast toward the Cascade Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range (Orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the Cascades. As a result, the west side of the Cascades experiences high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. 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.

North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered by some to be a northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea.

A weather front is a boundary separating two masses of air of different densities, and is the principal cause of meteorological phenomena outside the tropics. In surface weather analyses, fronts are depicted using various colored triangles and half-circles, depending on the type of front. The air masses separated by a front usually differ in temperature and humidity.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.

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References

1 2 "Pyramid Peak, Washington". Peakbagger.com.
1 2 3 "Pyramid Peak". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2019-09-24.
1 2 Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008.
↑ Mount Rainier National Park Place Names. Gary Fuller Reese (author), 2009.

External links

National Park Service web site: Mount Rainier National Park
Climbing Pyramid Peak: YouTube

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[pb-1] 1 2 "Pyramid Peak, Washington". Peakbagger.com.

[gnis-2] 1 2 3 "Pyramid Peak". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2019-09-24.

[Beckey,_Fred_W_2008-3] 1 2 Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008.

[4] Mount Rainier National Park Place Names. Gary Fuller Reese (author), 2009.