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126-615: The mountains are located in western Washington in the United States, spread out across four counties: Clallam , Grays Harbor , Jefferson and Mason . Physiographically, they are a section of the larger Pacific Border province , which is in turn a part of the larger Pacific Mountain System . The Olympics have the form of a domed cluster of steep-sided peaks surrounded by heavily forested foothills and incised by deep valleys. They are surrounded by water on three sides, separated from

252-635: A temperate rainforest . Weeks may pass without a clear day. The western slopes of the Cascade Range receive some of the heaviest annual snowfall (in some places more than 200 inches or 5,100 millimeters water equivalent) in the country. In the rain shadow area east of the Cascades, the annual precipitation is only 6 inches (150 mm). Precipitation then increases again eastward toward the Rocky Mountains (about 120 miles (190 km) east of

378-840: A consequence of the high precipitation, northern latitude, and cool moderating climate adjacent to the Pacific Ocean. There are about 184 glaciers and permanent ice fields crowning the Olympics peaks. The most prominent glaciers are those on Mount Olympus covering approximately 10 square miles (26 km). Beyond the Olympic complex are the glaciers of Mount Carrie and others in the Bailey Range , Mount Christie , Mount Queets , and Mount Anderson , however most of these have experienced significant decrease in both length and mass in recent decades, with several disappearing completely in

504-557: A dense moss layer on the forest floor. The rain forests are the wintering grounds for herds of Roosevelt elk and it is thought that browsing by the elk is responsible for the open shrub layer and the dominance of Sitka spruce over western hemlock. The rain forests are just one type of forest found in the Olympic Mountains. Franklin and Dyrness set out 5 forest zones: Sitka spruce, western hemlock, silver fir , mountain hemlock , and subalpine parkland. Other authors include

630-477: A large part of the top of the volcano. The eruption flattened the forest up to 20 km north of the volcano , killed 57 people, flooded the Columbia River and its tributaries with ash and mud, and blanketed large parts of Washington eastward and other surrounding states in ash, making day look like night. Washington is the northwesternmost state of the contiguous United States . It borders Idaho to

756-645: A large region experiences strong rain shadow effects. Semi-arid conditions occur in much of Eastern Washington with the strongest rain shadow effects at the relatively low elevations of the central Columbia Plateau —especially the region just east of the Columbia River from about the Snake River to the Okanagan Highland . Thus, instead of rain forests, much of Eastern Washington is covered with dry grassland , shrub-steppe , and dunes . The average annual temperature ranges from 51 °F (11 °C) on

882-425: A low-pressure cyclone system takes over in the north Pacific Ocean. The air spiraling inward in a counter-clockwise fashion causes Washington's prevailing winds to come from the southwest, and bring cool and overcast weather and a predictably wet season . The term " Pineapple Express " is used colloquially to describe atmospheric river events, where repeated storm systems are directed by this persistent cyclone from

1008-517: A part of the Pacific Ocean floor (separate from the Pacific plate) inched eastward toward North America about 35 million years ago and most of the sea floor subducted beneath the continental land mass of the North America plate. Some of the sea floor, however, was scraped off and jammed against the mainland, creating the dome that was the forerunner of today's Olympics. In this particular case,

1134-461: A preliminary assessment of the risks and opportunities presented given the possibility of a rise in global temperatures and their effects on Washington state. Rainfall in Washington varies dramatically going from east to west. The Olympic Peninsula's western side receives as much as 160 inches (4,100 mm) of precipitation annually, making it the wettest area of the 48 conterminous states and

1260-474: A proposal to use the name "State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth", which would conflict with the current state of Washington. Residents of Washington (known as "Washingtonians") and the Pacific Northwest simply refer to the state as "Washington", and the nation's capital "Washington, D.C.", "the other Washington", or simply "D.C." The 9,300-year-old skeletal remains of Kennewick Man , one of

1386-473: A sixth, Douglas-fir zone. Different plant associations are typical of one or more forest zones. For instance, the rain forest plant association described above is a member of the Sitka spruce forest zone. The Sitka spruce zone is a lowland zone dominated by Sitka spruce and western hemlock. Precipitation is high, winters are mild, elevations are low. This forest zone is typically found at very low elevations on

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1512-514: A state; the creation of Idaho Territory in 1863 established the final eastern border. A Washington state constitution was drafted and ratified in 1878, but it was never officially adopted. Although never approved by the United States Congress, the 1878 constitution is an important historical document that shows the political thinking of the time; it was used extensively during the drafting of Washington state's 1889 constitution,

1638-543: A three-man commission ruling in favor of the United States in 1872. The border established by the Oregon Treaty and finalized by the arbitration in 1872 remains the boundary between Washington and British Columbia . The growing population of Oregon Territory north of the Columbia River formally requested a new territory. As a result of the Monticello Convention , held in present-day Cowlitz County ,

1764-449: A varied ecosystem. The Olympic rain forests are composed primarily of Sitka spruce and western hemlock , as are the surrounding lowland Sitka spruce forests, but are distinct in having a relative abundance of groves of bigleaf maple and vine maple , which support large epiphytic communities of mosses, lichens, ferns, and clubmosses; an abundance of nurse logs on the forest floor; a relatively open forest canopy and sparse shrub layer; and

1890-439: A varied range of bird species. This range includes raptors, shorebirds, woodland birds, grassland birds, ducks, and others. There have also been a large number of species introduced to Washington, dating back to the early 18th century, including horses and burros. The channel catfish , lamprey , and sturgeon are among the 400 known freshwater fishes . Along with the Cascades frog, there are several forms of snakes that define

2016-534: Is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington state to distinguish it from the national capital , both named after George Washington (the first U.S. president ). Washington borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, Oregon to the south, Idaho to the east, and shares an international border with the Canadian province of British Columbia to

2142-707: Is a function of both elevation and precipitation, particularly the amount of snow that falls each winter. The growing season for trees is relatively short in the higher elevations of the windward Olympics, compared to similar elevations in other mountain ranges, due to the large accumulations of snow that take a long time to melt each year. Subalpine meadows in the Olympic mountains are of 5 types. Heath shrub meadows are dominated by ericaceous huckleberries and heathers. Lush herbaceous meadows are typified by Sitka valerian and showy sedge . Drier areas or those with longer snow cover grow dwarf sedge ( Carex nigricans ) or grass ( Festuca viridis ) meadows. Phlox diffusa typifies

2268-490: Is an extremely important business throughout much of Eastern Washington, as the soil is highly productive and irrigation , aided by dams along the Columbia River, is fairly widespread. The spread of population in Eastern Washington is dominated by access to water, especially rivers. The main cities are all located alongside rivers or lakes; most of them are named after the river or lake they adjoin. Farther east,

2394-505: Is another Pacific Northwest endemic. Slugs are abundant in the Olympic forests, outweighing mammals and birds combined. They thrive in the cool damp shade of the forests. The banana slug is the largest and most conspicuous of Olympic slugs. Northern spotted owl ( Strix occidentalis caurina ) is an old-growth dependent species and is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The majority of spotted owls on

2520-464: Is dominated by mountain hemlock . It occurs along with subalpine fir from 1,100 to 1,650 metres (3,610 to 5,410 ft) in the Bailey Range; however, the range of this forest type is not extensive and does not extend much west of Mount Olympus, nor is it common in the east. Chamaecyparis nootkatensis|Yellow-cedar is sometimes found in relation to these plants. In the east and other drier areas,

2646-491: Is often little or no cloud cover during the summer. The months July through September offer the most favorable weather for visiting the Bailey Range. Principal summits of the Bailey Range: The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone , turbidite , and basaltic oceanic crust. The mountains were sculpted during

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2772-411: Is reduced to isolated stands of trees called tree islands, surrounded by subalpine meadows, in the subalpine parkland zone. Variations in substrate, topography, moisture, and snowpack depth and duration determine the vegetation community. Tree islands form on convex topography, which tends to gather less snow and shed it sooner than surrounding level or concave topography. In the west, the subalpine zone

2898-422: Is represented by its largest and longest-lived species, and some of its second and third ranked species as well. Biomass accumulations are among the highest in the temperate forest zones. Dominance of conifers is thought to be a result of the amount and timing of precipitation. The dry summers limit the growth of deciduous trees, such as most hardwoods. Evergreens, such as most conifers, are able to take advantage of

3024-562: Is the largest carnivore in the Olympics. Their main prey are deer and elk but they also hunt porcupines and insects. They are rarely seen , but are thought to be widespread and relatively common in the Olympics. The mountain goat ( Oreamnos americanus ) is not native to the Olympic Mountains but was introduced for hunting in the 1920s by a coalition of the Forest Service, the Clallam County Game Warden, and

3150-405: Is the only U.S. state named after a president. Confusion between the state of Washington and the city of Washington, D.C., led to renaming proposals during the statehood process for Washington in 1889, including David Dudley Field II 's suggestion to name the new state "Tacoma"; these proposals failed to garner support. Washington, D.C.'s, own statehood movement in the 21st century has included

3276-678: Is the only hummingbird in the Olympics. They overwinter in Mexico and southern California, arriving in the Olympics in February or March with the flowering of the Indian plum Oemleria cerasifera . Harlequin duck ( Histrionicus histrionicus ) breeds in fast-moving mountain streams in the Olympics. They spend the rest of the year in coastal waters. Osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ) and bald eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) fish in Olympic rivers, nesting in large old trees. Both are relatively common,

3402-566: Is the silver fir zone, up to about 3,900 feet (1,200 m). This zone gets more precipitation, and more of it as snow, than the lower, warmer, drier western hemlock zone. The cold and the snowpack combine to limit growth of lower-elevation plants. On the other hand, silver fir is less drought tolerant and less fire tolerant than either Douglas-fir or western hemlock. Slide alder ( Alnus viridis sinuata ) grows in snow-creep areas and avalanche chutes, along with yellow-cedar . Meadows of thimbleberry also grow in this zone, often intergrading between

3528-456: Is thought to be a result of the relative lack of frequent windstorms like tropical cyclones . Along the western flanks of the mountains the increased orographic precipitation supports temperate rain forests in the Quinault, Queets, Hoh, and Bogachiel river valleys at low elevations. Protection by Olympic National Park, has allowed these rain forests to retain old growth trees, which supports

3654-506: The Blue Mountains and the eastern sides of the Cascades. Mammals native to the state include the bat , black bear , bobcat , cougar , coyote , deer , elk , gray wolf , hare , moose , mountain beaver , muskrat , opossum , pocket gopher , rabbit , raccoon , river otter , skunk , and tree squirrel . Because of the wide range of geography, the state of Washington is home to several different ecoregions, which allow for

3780-435: The Blue Mountains . The state of Washington has a temperate climate. The eastern half of Washington has a semi-arid to warm-summer mediterranean climate , while the western side of Washington as well as the coastal areas of the state have a cool oceanic climate or warm-summer mediterranean climate. Major factors determining Washington's climate include the large semi-permanent low pressure and high pressure systems of

3906-489: The Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. Washington is part of a region known as the Pacific Northwest , a term which always refers to at least Washington and Oregon, and may or may not include some or all the following, depending on the user's intent: Idaho, western Montana , northern California , British Columbia, and Alaska . The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting

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4032-567: The Cascade Mountains westward, Western Washington has a mostly Mediterranean climate , with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns and springs, and relatively dry summers. The Cascade Range has several volcanoes , which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains. From north to south, these major volcanoes are Mount Baker , Glacier Peak , Mount Rainier , Mount St. Helens , and Mount Adams . All are active volcanoes. Mount Rainier—the tallest mountain in

4158-707: The Columbia District . Fur trapper James Sinclair , on orders from Sir George Simpson , Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, led some 200 settlers from the Red River Colony west in 1841 to settle on Hudson Bay Company farms near Fort Vancouver . The party crossed the Rockies into the Columbia Valley , near present-day Radium Hot Springs , British Columbia, then traveled south-west down

4284-697: The Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean as part of the Anglo–American Convention of 1818 , which established the 49th parallel as the international boundary west from Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains . Resolution of the territorial and treaty issues west to the Pacific was deferred until a later time. In 1819, Spain ceded its rights north of the 42nd parallel to the United States. Negotiations with Great Britain over

4410-784: The Duwamish Indians , while the first European to see them, the Spanish navigator Juan Pérez , named Mount Olympus "Santa Rosalia", in 1774. But the English captain John Meares , seeing them in 1788, thought he would honor the Greek explorer Juan de Fuca who claimed to have found the fabled Northwest passage nearby by naming the mountain after the mythical home of Greek gods which is " Mount Olympus " in Greece . Various names for

4536-497: The Hoh Rainforest annually, receiving the most measured precipitation of anywhere in the contiguous United States. Areas to the northeast of the mountains are located in a rain shadow cast by the mountain themselves, and receive as little as 16 in (410 mm) of precipitation around the city of Sequim. Annual precipitation increases to about 30 in (760 mm) on the edges of the rain shadow around Port Townsend,

4662-542: The Kootenai River and Columbia River. Despite such efforts, Britain eventually ceded all claims to land south of the 49th parallel to the United States in the Oregon Treaty on June 15, 1846. In 1836, a group of missionaries, including Marcus Whitman , established several missions and Whitman's own settlement Waiilatpu, in what is now southeastern Washington state, near present-day Walla Walla County , in

4788-606: The Olympic Mountains . These remote mountains are situated within the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness , but can be seen from the park's Hurricane Ridge visitor center. Precipitation runoff from the range drains into the Elwha , Queets , and Hoh Rivers . The Bailey Range Traverse is an off-trail alpine trek which may require ice axe and crampons, except in late summer when snowpack has melted. This 15-mile route made popular in

4914-603: The San Juan Islands is heavily inhabited by killer , gray, and humpback whales. In Eastern Washington, the flora is vastly different. Tumbleweeds and sagebrush dominate the landscape throughout large parts of the countryside. Russian olives and other trees are common alongside riverbanks; however, apart from the riversides, large swaths of Eastern Washington have no naturally existing trees at all (though many trees have been planted and are irrigated by people, of course). A wider variety of flora can be found in both

5040-825: The Santiago , part of a two-ship flotilla with the Sonora . He claimed the coastal lands up to Prince William Sound for Spain as part of their claimed rights under the Treaty of Tordesillas , which they maintained made the Pacific a "Spanish lake" and all its shores part of the Spanish Empire. Soon thereafter, the smallpox epidemic of the 1770s devastated the Native American population. In 1778, British explorer Captain James Cook sighted Cape Flattery , at

5166-601: The Seattle Press , the state's primary newspaper in 1889 when the paper printed a request from the governor of Washington, Elisha P. Ferry , for men to cross and explore the Olympic Mountains. In response to Ferry's expressed interest in the interior of the Olympic Peninsula , the Seattle Press newspaper published a story in the fall of 1889 challenging any "hardy citizens to acquire fame by unveiling

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5292-470: The U.S. Congress passed legislation to create Washington Territory . It was signed into law by President Millard Fillmore on March 2, 1853. The boundary of Washington Territory initially extended farther east than the present state, including what is now the Idaho Panhandle and parts of western Montana, and picked up more land to the southeast that was left behind when Oregon was admitted as

5418-623: The United States Congress during the creation of Washington Territory in 1853; the territory was to be named "Columbia", for the Columbia River and the Columbia District , but Kentucky representative Richard H. Stanton found the name too similar to the District of Columbia (the national capital, itself containing the city of Washington), and proposed naming the new territory after President Washington. Washington

5544-585: The "deep freeze" winters of 1883–1884, 1915–1916, 1949–1950, and 1955–1956, among others. During these events, Western Washington experienced up to 6 feet (1.8 m) of snow, sub-zero (−18 °C) temperatures, three months with snow on the ground, and lakes and rivers frozen over for weeks. Seattle's lowest officially recorded temperature is 0 °F (−18 °C) set on January 31, 1950, but low-altitude areas approximately three hours away from Seattle have recorded lows as cold as −48 °F (−44 °C). The Southern Oscillation greatly influences weather during

5670-522: The 1957 hunting season, several times as many as expected; the excess was a logistical nightmare. One hunter was accidentally shot and died. A second hunter drowned in the Hoh River. A pack horse was shot. The Hoh River flooded, stranding hunters and washing away their camps. Forest Service and State Game personnel were overwhelmed with rescue efforts (lost, stranded, or injured hunters) and dispute resolution. Over 800 elk were killed, some left lying in

5796-399: The 1970s is considered the finest alpine route in the Olympics, and its spectacular scenery has been featured in television and motion pictures such as the 1952 Disney natural history movie, " The Olympic Elk ." This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1961 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names . It is named for William Elder Bailey (born February 10, 1860), proprietor of

5922-738: The Hoh, Queets, and Quinault rivers are typical U-shaped valleys carved by advancing alpine glaciers. Piles of talus and rockfall were created by retreating alpine glaciers. In the high mountains, the major rivers have their headwaters in alpine glacially carved cirques . During the Orting, followed by the Stuck, the Salmon Springs, and the Fraser glaciations, the vast continental Cordilleran Ice Sheet descended from Alaska south through British Columbia to

6048-548: The Idaho border). The Olympic mountains and Cascades compound this climatic pattern by causing orographic lift of the air masses blown inland from the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the windward side of the mountains receiving high levels of precipitation and the leeward side receiving low levels. This occurs most dramatically around the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Range. In both cases, the windward slopes facing southwest receive high precipitation and mild, cool temperatures. While

6174-664: The Interior had a different subsistence-based culture based on hunting, food-gathering and some forms of agriculture, as well as a dependency on salmon from the Columbia and its tributaries. The area has been known to host megathrust earthquakes in the past, the last being the Cascadia earthquake of 1700 . The first recorded European landing on the Washington coast was by Spanish Captain Don Bruno de Heceta in 1775, on board

6300-597: The Northwest Coast to explorers and traders from other nations, most notably Britain and Russia as well as the fledgling United States. American captain Robert Gray (for whom Grays Harbor County is named) then discovered the mouth of the Columbia River. He named the river after his ship, the Columbia . Beginning in 1792, Gray established trade in sea otter pelts. The Lewis and Clark Expedition entered

6426-442: The Olympic Mountains are the fisher ( Martes pennanti ) and the gray wolf ( Canis lupus ). The fisher was declared extirpated from Washington State when no fishers were detected during statewide carnivore surveys in the 1990s and 2000s. A reintroduction project was initiated in 2007, in partnership with Olympic National Park. The gray wolf was extirpated from Washington State in the early 20th century. The last wolf documented in

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6552-425: The Olympic peninsula, along with the largest preserve of temperate old-growth forest, live in the national park. Spotted owls prey on flying squirrels and snowshoe hares, and are themselves preyed on by great horned owls Bubo virginianus . The density of the canopy of an old-growth forest gives the spotted owls some protection from the larger, less agile great horned owls. Rufous hummingbird ( Selasphorus rufus )

6678-529: The Olympics as well as other parts of a limited range, include the Cope's giant salamander ( Dicamptodon copei ), and the Van Dyke's salamander ( Plethodon vandykei ,) both found primarily in the Olympics and other mountainous areas of western Washington; the tailed frog ( Ascaphus truei ), of Pacific Northwest mountain streams, and the mountain beaver ( Aplodontia rufa ) of the coastal Pacific Northwest. For

6804-609: The Olympics creates permanent snow and ice at lower elevations than is typical for other mountain ranges, cutting off the alpine vegetation zone. Most of the alpine vegetation is on the rain shadow side, in the northeastern Olympics, where there is less permanent snow and ice. Alpine vegetation is low herbaceous, typified by Phlox diffusa and species of Carex . Many of the Olympic Mountain's endemic plants occur here, such as Piper's bellflower ( Campanula piperi ) and Olympic violet ( Viola flettii ). Mammals extirpated from

6930-562: The Olympics was trapped in 1920. In the early 21st century, wolves are naturally migrating back into eastern and north-central Washington State, but there is no evidence of wolf migration into the Olympics and no plan to trans-locate wolves to the Olympics. The gray wolf is listed as endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the fisher is listed as state endangered by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. Previous to

7056-507: The Olympics. The ice split into the Juan de Fuca and Puget ice lobes, as they encountered the resistant Olympic Mountains, carving out the current waterways and advanced as far south as present day Olympia. Ice flowed up the river valleys as far as 3,800 feet (1,200 m), carrying granitic glacial erratics with it. The mountains support a variety of different ecosystems, varying by elevation and relative east–west location, which influences

7182-801: The Oregon Trail, wandered north to settle in the Puget Sound area. Spanish and Russian claims to the region were ceded in the early 19th century through a series of treaties. The Spanish signed the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, and the Russians the Russo-American Treaty of 1824 and 1825 . The Oregon Question remained contested between the United Kingdom and the United States until the 1846 Oregon Treaty established

7308-474: The Pacific Ocean consisting of numerous islands, deep fjords and bays carved out by glaciers. The remainder of the state consists of deep temperate rainforests in the west; mountain ranges in the west, center, northeast, and far southeast; and a semi-arid basin region in the east, center, and south, given over to intensive agriculture. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in

7434-929: The Pacific Ocean; with the Satsop, Wynoochee by way of the Chehalis River , the Humptulips by way of Grays Harbor at the mouth of the Chehalis River, and the Bogachiel and Sol Duc forming the Quillayute River within 5 miles (8.0 km) of tidewater), Lyre , Elwha , Dungeness (all flowing north into the Strait of Juan de Fuca ), Big Quilcene , Dosewallips , Duckabush , Hamma Hamma , and Skokomish (all flowing east into Hood Canal ). Principal summits: Other summits: A large portion of

7560-412: The Pacific by the 20 to 35 km (12 to 22 mi) wide coastal plain. The general form of the range is more or less circular, or somewhat horseshoe-shaped, and the drainage pattern is radial. Rivers radiate outwards to all sides. Clockwise from windward to leeward, the major watersheds are: Satsop , Wynoochee , Humptulips , Quinault , Queets , Hoh , Bogachiel , Sol Duc (all flowing west into

7686-470: The Pacific coast from the Russian River to Vancouver Island . Olympic and Vancouver Island elk are some of the last pure Roosevelt elk herds left; those in the Cascades have mixed with Rocky Mountain elk . Olympic National Park has the largest population of Roosevelt elk in the world. Some herds spend winter in lowland valleys, summer in high country, in subalpine meadows. Other herds live year-round in lowland forests and meadows. Elk prefer more humid areas,

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7812-431: The Pacific coast to 40 °F (4 °C) in the northeast. The lowest temperature recorded in the state was −48 °F (−44 °C) in Winthrop and Mazama . The highest recorded temperature in the state was 120 °F (49 °C) at Hanford on June 29, 2021. Both records were set east of the Cascades. Western Washington is known for its mild climate, considerable fog, frequent cloud cover, long-lasting drizzles in

7938-461: The Press and O'Neil expeditions were impressed by the quantity and tameness of the elk. Both expedition leaders prohibited shooting the elk and deer except when the expedition was in need of meat. The Olympic National Monument was formed to protect the elk after the herds were reduced to less than 2000 animals. The population rebounded, and in 1937 a hunting season for elk was opened in the Hoh River valley. An estimated 2,000–4,000 hunters came for

8064-411: The Puget Sound lowlands are known for clouds and rain in the winter, the western slopes of the Cascades receive larger amounts of precipitation, often falling as snow at higher elevations. Mount Baker , near the state's northern border, is one of the snowiest places in the world. In 1999, it set the world record for snowfall in a single season—1,140 inches (95 ft; 29 m). East of the Cascades,

8190-499: The San Juan Islands, and the city of Everett across Puget Sound. 80% of precipitation falls during the winter months. On the coastal plain, the winter temperature stays between −2 and 7 °C (28 and 45 °F). During the summer it warms up to between 10 and 24 °C (50 and 75 °F), with occasional hot spell days reaching to the upper 80s to low 90s °F (30-35 °C). The large number of snowfields and glaciers , reaching down to 1,500 m (5,000 ft) above sea level, are

8316-400: The Sitka spruce, wet western hemlock, and mountain hemlock zones. Elk browsing is believed to be responsible for the open park-like structure of the Olympic rainforests; the elk graze on hemlock and shrubs, leaving the Sitka spruce to grow. Elk browsing also increases diversity of grasses and forbs. Elk exclosure experiments in rainforest valleys show more species of vegetation growing outside

8442-401: The State Game Commission. Mountain goats in the Olympics have been associated with damage to alpine vegetation and soil erosion. The goats have also been aggressive towards park visitors. In 1999, a mountain goat gored a hiker at the summit of Mount Ellinor in Olympic National Forest, and in 2010, a mountain goat fatally gored a hiker on the Klahane Ridge trail in Olympic National Park. In 2012,

8568-463: The Vancouver Island/North Cascades corner pushes Olympic rock upward and southwestward, resulting in strata that appear to be standing on edge and that intermix with strata of different mineral composition. All this occurred under water; the Olympics began to rise above the sea only 10–20 million years ago. The Olympics were shaped in the Pleistocene era by both alpine and continental glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times. The valleys of

8694-400: The Western United States, after California . Mount Rainier , an active stratovolcano , is the state's highest elevation at 14,411 feet (4,392 meters), and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous U.S. Washington is a leading lumber producer, the largest producer of apples, hops, pears, blueberries, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries in the U.S., and ranks high in

8820-438: The area is dominated by Douglas-fir . The reason for this is that Douglas-fir is an early seral species, and reproduces primarily after disturbances such as fire, logging, landslides, and windstorms. Western hemlock does not reproduce well on disturbed, exposed soil but germinates under the canopy of Douglas-fir, eventually overtaking the forest by shading out the Douglas-fir, which cannot reproduce in shade. In this zone, despite

8946-527: The bald eagle more so along the coast than in the mountains. Olympic rivers are dominated by Pacific salmonids , the Oncorhynchus . Chinook, coho, pink, rainbow and steelhead, and cutthroat all spawn in Olympic rivers. Chum and sockeye also live in coastal Olympic peninsula rivers but do not reach into the mountains. Bull trout ( Salvelinus confluentus ) and Dolly Varden trout ( S. malma ) also live in Olympic rivers. There are at least 16  endemic animal species. Near-endemics, those that occur in

9072-462: The border between British North America and the United States along the 49th parallel until the Strait of Georgia . Vague wording in the treaty left the ownership of the San Juan Islands in doubt; during the so-called Pig War , both nations agreed to a joint military occupation of the islands. Kaiser Wilhelm I of the German Empire was selected as an arbitrator to end the dispute, with

9198-523: The climate becomes less arid, with annual rainfall increasing as one goes east to 21.2 inches (540 mm) in Pullman, near the Washington–Idaho border. The Okanogan Highlands and the rugged Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains cover much of the state's northeastern quadrant. The Palouse southeast region of Washington was grassland that has been mostly converted into farmland, and extends to

9324-708: The cold season. During the El Niño phase, the jet stream enters the U.S. farther south through California, therefore late fall and winter are drier than normal with less snowpack. The La Niña phase reinforces the jet stream through the Pacific Northwest, causing Washington to have more rain and snow than average. In 2006, the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington published The Impacts of Climate change in Washington's Economy ,

9450-519: The contiguous 48 states. Western Washington also is home of the Olympic Mountains , far west on the Olympic Peninsula , which support dense forests of conifers and areas of temperate rainforest . These deep forests, such as the Hoh Rainforest , are among the only rainforests in the continental United States. While Western Washington does not always experience a high amount of rainfall as measured in total inches of rain per year, it does consistently have more rainy days per year than most other places in

9576-529: The country. Eastern Washington —the part of the state east of the Cascades—has a relatively dry climate, in distinct contrast to the west side. It includes large areas of semiarid steppe and a few truly arid deserts in the rain shadow of the Cascades; the Hanford reservation receives an average annual precipitation of 6 to 7 inches (150 to 180 mm). Despite the limited amount of rainfall, agriculture

9702-585: The driest northeastern portion of the mountains. The Olympics are made up of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust. They are primarily Eocene sandstones, turbidites , and basaltic oceanic crust. Unlike the Cascades , the Olympic Mountains are not volcanic, and contain no native granite. Millions of years ago, vents and fissures opened under the Pacific Ocean and lava flowed forth, creating huge underwater volcanic mountains and ranges called seamounts . The Farallon tectonic plate that formed

9828-424: The dry western hemlock, Douglas-fir, and subalpine fir zones. Similar to the elk, blacktail deer winter in lowlands, or along south-facing ridges, and summer in the high country meadows. Mountain beaver ( Aplodontia rufa ) is a large primitive rodent endemic to the Pacific Northwest. They are common in the Olympics, preferring wet scrubby thickets and second growth timber. Banana slug ( Ariolimax columbianus )

9954-536: The east, bounded mostly by the meridian running north from the confluence of the Snake River and Clearwater River (about 117°02'23" west), except for the southernmost section where the border follows the Snake River. Oregon is to the south, with the Columbia River forming the western part and the 46th parallel forming the eastern part of the Oregon–Washington border. During Washington's partition from Oregon,

10080-529: The entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca , but Cook did not realize the strait existed. It was not discovered until Charles William Barkley , captain of the Imperial Eagle , sighted it in 1787. The straits were further explored by Spanish explorers Manuel Quimper in 1790 and Francisco de Eliza in 1791, and British explorer George Vancouver in 1792. The British–Spanish Nootka Convention of 1790 ended Spanish claims of exclusivity and opened

10206-455: The exclosures, where elk browse, than inside; while there are more brush and saplings inside exclosures, there are more grasses and forbs outside. Elk browsing improves forage for other herbivores like deer, voles and snowshoe hares. Elk prefer old growth forest and young alder groves over the large, even-aged plantations common on commercial timber land, although they will use small, recent clearcuts where they mimic natural forest openings. Both

10332-567: The extirpation of the gray wolf, coyotes ( Canis latrans ) occurred in the lowlands of the Olympic peninsula but not in the mountains. With the absence of wolves, coyotes have been moving up into the higher elevations of the mountains and may be responsible for population declines in the Olympic marmot . American black bear ( Ursus americanus ) are numerous in the Olympics. Olympic bears eat salmon, rodents, huckleberries, tree bark, insects, and deer or elk carcasses. Cougar ( Felis concolor )

10458-444: The forest. Proponents of a national park used the 1937 elk hunt as an argument in favor of permanent protection for Olympic's elk herds. Not all the elk herds are protected inside the national park: Some migrate in and out of the park, and others live entirely outside the park. All elk are subject to regulated hunting when outside the national park. Blacktail deer ( Odocoileus hemionus columbianus ) prefer drier areas than elk, such as

10584-626: The future Olympics were being jammed into a corner created by the Vancouver Island and North Cascades microcontinents attached to the western edge of the North America plate. This is thought to be the origin of the curved shape of the Olympic Basaltic Horseshoe, an arc of submarine basalt running east along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, south along Hood Canal, and then west to Lake Quinault. Thrust-faulting northeast into

10710-464: The high annual precipitation, drought stress in summer is sufficiently severe to limit growth of many species, such as Sitka spruce. Hardwoods such as bigleaf maple, willows, and red alder are limited to disturbed sites and riparian areas. red-cedar grows in the wettest sites. A very small area of the northeastern rain shadow contains the limited Douglas-fir zone, where it is too dry for western hemlock. Moving up in elevation and moisture availability

10836-399: The high country to hunt elk, gather huckleberries and beargrass, and perform spirit quests. Trails across the mountains allowed members of the various tribes to visit and trade with each other. The cross-Olympic expeditions of the 1890s found tree blazes that they took to mark Indian trails. Archeological evidence shows that the Olympic Mountains were inhabited by Paleolithic hunters after

10962-421: The local climate, primarily precipitation. Olympic forests are coniferous forests, unique among mesic temperate forests in their almost complete dominance by conifers rather than by hardwoods. The hardwood:conifer timber volume ratio is 1:1,000 in the maritime Pacific Northwest. Another unique feature of Olympic forests is the size and longevity of the dominant tree species. Every coniferous genus represented here

11088-526: The low herbaceous meadows of pumice, talus and scree slopes and other rocky areas. American saw-wort is common in both mountain meadows and lower subalpine parklands in the Olympics. Above timberline is the Alpine zone, not a forest zone since no trees can grow this high. The alpine zone in the Olympics is much more limited in size than in other temperate mountain ranges, from 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) to 2,250 metres (7,380 ft). The high precipitation of

11214-479: The lower elevations. Precipitation varies greatly throughout the range, from the wet western slopes to the semi-arid eastern ridges. Mount Olympus, nearly 8,000 feet (2,400 m) tall, is a mere 35 miles (56 km) from the Pacific Ocean, one of the steepest reliefs globally and accounting for the high precipitation of the area, with an estimated 240 inches (6,100 mm) of snow and rain on Mount Olympus. 140 to 170 inches (3,600 to 4,300 mm) of rain falls on

11340-480: The manufacture of warships. Seattle was the point of departure for many soldiers in the Pacific, several of whom were quartered at Fort Lawton, which later became Discovery Park . In Eastern Washington, the Hanford Works atomic energy plant was opened in 1943 and played a major role in the construction of atomic bombs . After the end of World War II, and with the beginning of the civil rights movement ,

11466-604: The most prominent reptiles and amphibians. Coastal bays and islands are often inhabited by plentiful amounts of shellfish and whales. There are five species of salmon that ascend the Western Washington area, from streams to spawn. Bailey Range The Bailey Range is a mountain range located within Olympic National Park in Washington state. The Bailey Range is a subrange of

11592-730: The mountains were used based on the name Mount Olympus, including the Olympic Range, the Olympian Mountains, and the Olympus Range. Alternate proposals never caught on, and in 1864 the Seattle Weekly Gazette persuaded the government to make the present-day name official, although other names continued to be used. Washington (state) Washington , officially the State of Washington ,

11718-559: The mystery which wraps the land encircled by the snow-capped Olympic range." The newspaper then sponsored the 1889–90 Seattle Press Expedition to explore the unknown interior of the Olympic Range, and on April 27, 1890, the members of the expedition named the Bailey Range, which is considered the backbone of the Olympics. The expedition, led by James Halbold Christie and Charles Adams Barnes, also named Mount Christie , Mount Barnes , Mount Ferry , Mount Seattle , Mount Meany , Mount Noyes , Mount Dana , and Mount Scott . The Bailey Range

11844-573: The next few decades failed to settle upon a compromise boundary and the Oregon boundary dispute was highly contested between Britain and the United States. Disputed joint occupancy by Britain and the U.S. lasted for several decades. With American settlers pouring into Oregon Country , Hudson's Bay Company , which had previously discouraged settlement because it conflicted with the fur trade, reversed its position in an attempt to maintain British control of

11970-409: The north Pacific Ocean, the continental air masses of North America, and the Olympic and Cascade mountains. In the spring and summer, a high-pressure anticyclone system dominates the north Pacific Ocean, causing air to spiral out in a clockwise fashion. For Washington, this means prevailing winds from the northwest bring relatively cool air and a predictably dry season . In the autumn and winter,

12096-474: The north. Olympia is the state capital , and the most populous city is Seattle . Washington is the 18th-largest state , with an area of 71,362 square miles (184,830 km ), and the 13th-most populous state, with more than 7.8 million people. The majority of Washington's residents live in the Seattle metropolitan area , the center of transportation, business, and industry on Puget Sound , an inlet of

12222-470: The oldest and most complete human remains found in North America, were discovered in Washington in the 1990s. The region has been home to many established tribes of indigenous peoples for thousands of years. They are notable for their ornately carved welcome figures, canoes, long houses and masks. Prominent among their industries were salmon fishing and, notably among the Makah , whale hunting. The peoples of

12348-540: The one and only official Constitution of the State of Washington. Washington became the 42nd state of the United States on November 11, 1889. Early prominent industries in the new state included agriculture and lumber. In Eastern Washington, the Yakima River Valley became known for its apple orchards, while the growth of wheat using dry farming techniques became particularly productive. Heavy rainfall to

12474-698: The original inhabitants of the Olympic Peninsula, the highest peaks of the mountains were the only refuges during the Great Floods at the beginning of time. For the Elwha Klallam people, that peak was Mount Carrie; for the Skokomish, it was a peak west of Mount Ellinor. The Thunderbird figure of the Hoh tribe lived on Mount Olympus, in a den under Blue Glacier. People in the Skokomish, Quinault, and Elwha watersheds regularly traveled into

12600-504: The original plan for the border followed the Columbia River east until the confluence with the Snake, and then would have followed the Snake River east; this was changed to keep Walla Walla 's fertile farmland in Washington. To the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean. Its northern border lies mostly along the 49th parallel , and then via marine boundaries through the Strait of Georgia , Haro Strait , and Strait of Juan de Fuca , with

12726-521: The peaks, causing moisture to drop in the form of rain or snowfall ( Orographic lift ). As a result, the range experiences high precipitation, especially during the winter months. Due to heavy winter snowfalls, the Bailey Range supports the Carrie Glacier , Fairchild Glacier , and several glacier remnants. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there

12852-533: The production of apricots, asparagus, dry edible peas, grapes, lentils, peppermint oil, and potatoes. Livestock, livestock products, and commercial fishing—particularly of salmon, halibut, and bottomfish —are also significant contributors to the state's economy. Washington ranks second only to California in wine production. Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft, missiles, shipbuilding, and other transportation equipment, food processing, metals, and metal products, chemicals, and machinery. The state

12978-591: The production of electricity. This culminated in 1941 with the completion of the Grand Coulee Dam , the largest concrete structure in the United States and the largest dam in the world at its construction. During World War II, the state became a focus for war industries. While the Boeing Company produced many heavy bombers , ports in Seattle, Bremerton , Vancouver , and Tacoma were available for

13104-774: The range is contained within the Olympic National Park. Of this portion, 95% is part of the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness . The national park is surrounded on the south, east, and northwest sides by the Olympic National Forest, with five wilderness areas, and on the southwest side by the Clearwater State Forest with one Natural Area Preserve (Washington Department of Natural Resources), and the Quinault Indian Reservation. State parks and wildlife areas occur in

13230-534: The rest of the country, and for a time, it possessed a large shipbuilding industry. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during the period including World War I and World War II , and the Boeing company became an established icon in the area. During the Great Depression , a series of hydroelectric dams were constructed along the Columbia River as part of a project to increase

13356-615: The retreat of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet . Stone tools in the Deer Park area date to 7600 years ago, prior to the volcanic eruption of Mount Mazama . Similar tools have been found near Lake Cushman and throughout the Olympic subalpine meadows and ridges, as well as in coastal areas. In addition, a fragment of a woven basket found in the Olympic subalpine of Obstruction Point was radiocarbon dated to nearly 3000 years ago. The mountains were originally called " Sun-a-do " by

13482-583: The same time many white patients recovered, they held "medicine man" Marcus Whitman personally responsible, and executed Whitman and twelve other white settlers. This was called the Whitman massacre in 1847. This event triggered the Cayuse War between settlers and Indians. Fort Nisqually , a farm and trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company and the first European settlement in the Puget Sound area,

13608-439: The slide alder chutes and the silver fir forest. The next higher forest zone is the mountain hemlock zone, the highest forest zone in the Olympic mountains. In this zone most precipitation falls as snow and the snow-free growing season is very short. In the drier rainshadow side of the mountains, mountain hemlock is largely replaced by subalpine fir . At the higher elevations of the mountain hemlock/subalpine fir zone, tree cover

13734-505: The state on October 10, 1805. Explorer David Thompson , on his voyage down the Columbia River, camped at the confluence with the Snake River on July 9, 1811, and erected a pole and a notice claiming the territory for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. Britain and the United States agreed to what has since been described as "joint occupancy" of lands west of

13860-464: The state's growing Black or African American population's wages were 53% above the national average. The early diversification of Washington through the Great Migration led to successful efforts at reducing discrimination in the workplace. In 1950, Seattle's first black representative for the state's legislature was elected. At the 1970 U.S. census , the black population grew to 7.13% of

13986-485: The state's land area, mostly west of the northern Cascades. Approximately two-thirds of Washington's forested area is publicly owned, including 64 percent of federal land. Common trees and plants in the region are camassia , Douglas fir, hemlock, penstemon , ponderosa pine, western red cedar , and many species of ferns. The state's various areas of wilderness offer sanctuary, with substantially large populations of shorebirds and marine mammals. The Pacific shore surrounding

14112-407: The state. In addition to Western Washington and Eastern Washington , residents call the two parts of the state the "Westside" and the "Eastside", "Wet side" and "Dry side", or "Timberland" and "Wheatland", the latter pair more commonly in the names of region-specific businesses and institutions. These terms reflect the geography, climate, and industry of the land on both sides of the Cascades. From

14238-513: The state— is 50 miles (80 km) south of the city of Seattle, from which it is prominently visible. The U.S. Geological Survey considers 14,411-foot-tall (4,392 m) Mount Rainier the most dangerous volcano in the Cascade Range, due to its proximity to the Seattle metropolitan area , and most dangerous in the continental U.S. according to the Decade Volcanoes list. It is also covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in

14364-482: The subalpine zone is dominated by subalpine fir. It can occur with other trees, including mountain hemlock, silver fir, and yellow-cedar, but what characterizes these zones is the dominance of subalpine fir. These forests occur on the eastern ridges from 1,300 to 1,800 metres (4,300 to 5,900 ft). In the Olympics, the treeline is between 5,000 feet (1,500 m) and 6,000 feet (1,800 m) but can be as low as under 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in some places. Treeline

14490-648: The territory of both the Cayuse and the Nez Perce Indian tribes. Whitman's settlement would in 1843 help the Oregon Trail , the overland emigration route to the west, get established for thousands of emigrants in the following decades. Whitman provided medical care for the Native Americans, but when Indian patients—lacking immunity to new, "European" diseases—died in striking numbers, while at

14616-472: The total population. In 1970, the state was one of only four U.S. states to have been providing legal abortions before the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade which loosened abortion laws nationwide. On May 18, 1980, following a period of heavy tremors and small eruptions, the north face of Mount St. Helens slid off in the largest landslide in recorded history before erupting violently , destroying

14742-589: The trail to Mount Ellinor was closed in summer due to aggressive goats, re-opening in the fall. An airlifting effort by the National Park Service started in September 2018 in an attempt to relocate the goats to the Cascades region. NPS hopes to relocate several hundred goats before starting a lethal removal option. The park service hopes to reduce the goat population to 0-50 animals by 2028. Roosevelt elk Cervus canadensis roosevelti range along

14868-415: The tropical Pacific regions a great distance into the Pacific Northwest. Western Washington is very cloudy during much of fall, winter, and early spring. Seattle averages the least sunshine hours of any major city in the United States. Despite Western Washington's marine climate similar to many coastal cities of Europe, there are exceptions such as the "Big Snow" events of 1880, 1881, 1893, and 1916, and

14994-492: The west of the Cascade Range produced dense forests, and the ports along Puget Sound prospered from the manufacturing and shipping of lumber products, particularly the Douglas fir . Other industries that developed in the state included fishing, salmon canning and mining. For a long period, Tacoma had large smelters where gold, silver, copper, and lead ores were treated. Seattle was the primary port for trade with Alaska and

15120-402: The western coastal plain and not in mountainous areas, although it can be found as high as 1,900 feet (580 m). The lower elevations of the Olympic mountains, from roughly 480 feet (150 m) up to 1,800 feet (550 m) – 3,700 feet (1,100 m), feature the western hemlock zone, so-called because in most of the zone, the climax tree species would be western hemlock, even though much of

15246-796: The winter and warm, temperate summers. The eastern region, which does not benefit from the general moderating effect of the Pacific Ocean, occasionally experiences extreme climate. Arctic cold fronts in the winter and heat waves in the summer are not uncommon. In the Western region, temperatures have reached as high as 118 °F (48 °C) in Maple Valley during the June 2021 heat wave , and as low as −6 °F (−21 °C) in Longview , and even -8 F (-22 C) in Sammamish . Forests cover about half

15372-400: The winter precipitation by continuing to photosynthesize through fall, winter and early spring, when deciduous trees are not able to photosynthesize. No deciduous conifers occur in the Olympics; larch trees occur in the much-drier eastern Cascades, but not in the Olympics or western Cascades. There is only one species of evergreen hardwood, the madrone . The great size and age of conifers here

15498-412: Was among the first states to introduce same-sex marriage , and was one of only four states to have provided legal abortions on request before Roe v. Wade in 1973. Washington voters also approved a 2008 referendum on the legalization of physician-assisted suicide , making it one of 10 states to have legalized the practice. Washington was named after President George Washington by an act of

15624-509: Was first traversed by Billy Everett in 1885, who at the age of 16 reached Cream Lake, and some claim he was the first to climb Mount Carrie and Mount Fitzhenry . Based on the Köppen climate classification , the Bailey Range is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Olympic Peninsula . As fronts approach, they are forced upward by

15750-663: Was formed from the western part of the Washington Territory , which was ceded by the British Empire in the Oregon Treaty of 1846. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. One of the wealthiest and most socially liberal states in the country, Washington consistently ranks among the top states for highest life expectancy and employment rates. It was one of the first states (alongside Colorado ) to legalize medicinal and recreational cannabis ,

15876-483: Was founded in 1833. Black pioneer George Washington Bush and his Caucasian wife, Isabella James Bush, from Missouri and Tennessee , respectively, led four white families into the territory and founded New Market, now Tumwater , in 1846. They settled in Washington to avoid Oregon 's black exclusion law , which prohibited African Americans from entering the territory while simultaneously prohibiting slavery . After them, many more settlers, migrating overland along

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