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25-521: Goose Gap is a small pass connecting Badger Mountain to Candy Mountain to the west of Richland, Washington . It lies significantly higher than most of the Tri-Cities and is crossed by Interstate 182 just after its western terminus. An average of 18,000 people cross Goose Gap daily. There are residential areas on both sides of I-182 to the east of the gap, but to the west is mostly agriculture. The non-profit organization Friends of Badger Mountain

50-591: A trail to the summit. The 1.2 miles (1.9 km) trail rises 984 feet (300 m) above the trail head in Richland . Badger Mountain is a member of the Yakima Fold Belt , a series of topographical folds (or wrinkles) raised from tectonic compression. The Yakima Fold Belt extends from Interstate 90 near Vantage, Washington to the Columbia River near Wallula, Washington . The Yakima Fold Belt

75-739: Is a marker along the Canyon Trail at 1250 feet above sea level. There are two trails leading to the peak of the mountain, with three other trails on the slopes of the mountain. Badger Mountain is a popular location for hiking and photography because of its height above the Tri-Cities and the views it gives. On a clear day from the peak one can see Rattlesnake Mountain , and the Blue Mountains as well as major Cascade Mountains such as Mount Hood , Mount Adams , Mount Rainier and Mount Stuart . In 2010 more than 71,000 people visited

100-766: Is a popular hiking destination for a wide variety of climbers. There are a number of trails climbing the mountain with varying levels of difficulty. There are two summits on Badger Mountain, named the East Summit and the West Summit. The West Summit is the highest. Most of Badger Mountain is protected by the Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve, but the radio towers at the peak are private property. A non-profit group, Friends of Badger Mountain, worked to procure this shrub-steppe area that has most native vegetation intact and then built

125-570: Is a portion of the larger Olympic–Wallowa Lineament , which extends from near Port Angeles, Washington into northeastern Oregon . Badger Mountain is also a part of the Columbia River Basalt Group . Sometime between 10 and 15 million years ago, multiple lava flows poured out from the Yellowstone hotspot , then located in western Idaho . These lava flows covered large portions of Washington and Oregon on their way to

150-610: Is located along the south-eastern flank of the range. U.S. Route 26 crosses the southern portion of the range, traversing the Blue Mountain Summit and reaching an elevation of 5,098 feet (1,554 m). It is also crossed by the Union Pacific Railroad 's mainline between Portland, Oregon, and Pocatello, Idaho, which crests the summit at Kamela, Oregon . The summit lies on Union Pacific's La Grande Subdivision, which runs between La Grande and Hinkle ,

175-470: Is planning a new hiking trail to connect Badger Mountain to Candy Mountain, which will cross Goose Gap in a north-to-south direction, perpendicular to the Interstate. Badger Mountain (Tri-Cities) Badger Mountain is a small mountain in Richland, Washington . Badger rises above the Tri-Cities connected to the smaller Candy Mountain via Goose Gap , is visible throughout much of the area and

200-540: The Missoula Floods . As these floods rushed toward the Pacific Ocean they carried glacial erratics , chunks of granite not typically found in eastern Washington. The surface elevation of the flood water reached 1,250 feet (380 m) above sea level at Badger Mountain, making it into an island for a short time. Glacial erratics of various sizes can be seen up to this elevation on the mountain and there

225-944: The North Fork John Day Wilderness , the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness , and the Monument Rock Wilderness , all of which are in Oregon. The Wenaha–Tucannon Wilderness sits astride the Oregon–Washington border. The range is drained by several rivers, including the Grande Ronde and Tucannon , tributaries of the Snake, as well as the forks of the John Day , Umatilla and Walla Walla rivers, tributaries of

250-985: The Ochoco Mountains and Maury Mountains in the west near Prineville, Oregon , through the Greenhorn Mountains , the Aldrich Mountains , and the Strawberry Range , to the Elkhorn Mountains . The tallest peaks are Rock Creek Butte at 9,106 feet (2,776 m) in the Elkhorn Mountains, and Strawberry Mountain at 9,042 feet (2,756 m) in the Strawberry Range. The ranges of the Blue Mountains were uplifted by folding upward into

275-766: The Oregon Trail and were often the last mountain range American pioneers had to cross before either reaching southeast Washington near Walla Walla or passing down the Columbia River Gorge to the end of the Oregon Trail in the Willamette Valley near Oregon City . The range is currently traversed by Interstate 84 , which crosses the crest of the range at a 4,193-foot (1,278 m) summit, from south-southeast to north-northwest between La Grande and Pendleton. The community of Baker City

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300-551: The Pacific Ocean and are the cause of the underlying basalt of the region. In some areas, the basalt was 5,900 feet (1,800 m) thick. During the time of the last ice age , glaciers extended into northern Washington, Idaho and Montana . This blocked the Clark Fork River creating Glacial Lake Missoula . Periodically during the ice age, the weight of the water behind the ice dam caused it to break creating

325-521: The rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains and as such has a semi-arid climate with mild winters and hot summers. The average rainfall at the nearest airport is 7.94 inches (202 mm) per year and temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) are not uncommon. Because of this, Badger Mountain shares much of the same wildlife as the surrounding area including sagebrush , jackrabbits and rattlesnakes . There are no naturally occurring trees on

350-704: The "Blue Mountain Anticline" by tectonic rotation that began about 14 million years ago. More limited faulting and extension in places that include Baker valley and the Grande Ronde valley also contributed to today's topography. The Wallowa Mountains are considered to be part of the Blues by many geologists because their geology includes the same accreted terranes as the Elkhorns, Greenhorns, and Strawberries, although their mechanism of uplift differs somewhat. Similarly,

375-483: The Blue Mountains were inhabited by several different bands of the Northern Paiute , a Great Basin culture. Native American tribes originally migrated to the Blue Mountains for hunting and salmon runs. The Natives used to purposefully burn small parts of the forest in order to create pastures to attract game for hunting. In the mid-1800s, the Blue Mountains were a formidable obstacle to settlers traveling on

400-869: The United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management public agencies, but also by private land owners and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Much of the range is included in the Malheur National Forest , Umatilla National Forest , and Wallowa–Whitman National Forest . Several wilderness areas encompass remote parts of the range, including the North Fork Umatilla Wilderness ,

425-544: The blue hue imparted by the smoke of forest and range fires set by Indigenous people as management tools in the fall. The Blue Mountains are unique as the home of the world's largest living organism, a subterranean colonial mycelial mat of the fungus Armillaria ostoyae . The Blues are uplift mountains and contain some of the oldest rocks in Oregon. Rocks as old as 400 million years protrude through surrounding Columbia River Basalt flows and related volcanics of 16.7 million to about 6 million years ago. Geologically ,

450-738: The geology of Hells Canyon and the Seven Devils Mountains is also composed of accreted terranes of a similar nature. The river valleys and lower levels of the range were occupied by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Historic tribes of the region included the Walla Walla , Cayuse people and Umatilla , now acting together as the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation , located mostly in Umatilla County, Oregon. The southern portion of

475-624: The latter of which is the site of a major UP yard. Birds of the area include bald eagle , Lewis's woodpecker , Williamson's sapsucker , red-breasted nuthatch , golden-crowned kinglet and many migratory species, with the riverbanks important habitat for this birdlife. Mammals that move through the mountain grasslands include Rocky Mountain elk , Bighorn sheep and Mule deer . Native fish include Chinook Salmon, Steelhead, Redband Trout, Bull Trout, and Pacific Lamprey. The Blue Mountains in Washington are home to one of 10 identified elk herds in

500-415: The mid 1990s the area then became known for its mature males and trophy hunting. In 2018, Washington State proposed an updated elk management plan intended to improve the health of elk populations and habitats, reduce human conflict and agricultural damage, and managing elk populations for recreational, educational, scientific, and ceremonial purposes. The lands in the Blue Mountains are managed not only by

525-474: The mountain. The Canyon and Skyline Trails reach the peak. The Canyon Trail is 1.3 miles (2.1 km) long and starts at Trailhead Park. The Canyon Trail only allows hikers. The Skyline Trail is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) long and starts off of Dallas Road on the northwest side of Badger. The Skyline Trail goes along the spine of Badger Mountain and is open to hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. The Langdon, Sagebrush and Badger Flats Trails do not reach

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550-406: The mountain. Winter snows are also not uncommon. Blue Mountains (Oregon) The Blue Mountains cover ten counties across two states; they are Union , Umatilla , Grant , Baker , Wallowa and Harney counties in Oregon, and Walla Walla , Columbia , Garfield and Asotin counties in Washington. The Blue Mountains were named after the color of the mountains when seen from a distance and

575-466: The oldest rocks of the Blue Mountains (400+ to about 150 million years in age) were created as island arcs in the Pacific Ocean and accreted onto the North American plate . Today, this suture zone runs through Western Idaho (Riggins and McCall) Within these terranes are igneous intrusions , some of which have intruded after accretion. The Blue Mountains include several mountain ranges, from

600-607: The peak. The Sagebrush Trail is a spur off of the Skyline Trail, connecting it to Trailhead Park. The Langdon Trail wraps around the south side of the mountain, offering views of Badger Canyon and the Horse Heaven Hills . It is open to hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. The Badger Flats Trail is completely within Trailhead Park and is 0.6 miles (0.97 km) in length. Badger Mountain lies in

625-571: The state, with a population of approximately 4,500 Rocky Mountain elk as of 2018 across the region. In 1989, in response to a decline in the elk population and a heavy female-biased population, the Washington Fish & Wildlife Department regulated elk hunting in the Washington Blue Mountains with a "spike-only" general hunting season, permitting hunting of only male elk with at least one visible non-branched antler. By

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