North Cascades National Park is an American

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

in the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. At more than , it is the largest of the three

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Park consists of a northern and southern section, bisected by the Skagit River that flows through the reservoirs of Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area lies on the southern border of the south unit of the park. In addition to the two national recreation areas, other protected lands including several national forests and

wilderness areas Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

, as well as Canadian provincial parks in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, nearly surround the park. North Cascades National Park features the rugged mountain peaks of the North Cascades Range, the most expansive glacial system in the contiguous United States, the headwaters of numerous waterways, and vast forests with the highest degree of flora

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

of any American national park. The region was first settled by Paleo-Indian Native Americans; by the time European American explorers arrived, it was inhabited by Skagit tribes. By the early 19th century, the region was visited by fur trappers and several British and American companies vied for control over the fur trade. After the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: ...

was set at the 49th parallel in 1846, explorers came to chart potential routes through the mountains for roads and railroads. Limited mining and logging occurred from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. The first significant human impact in the region occurred in the 1920s when several dams were built in the Skagit River valley to generate hydroelectric power. Environmentalists then campaigned to preserve the remaining wilderness, culminating on October 2, 1968, with the designation of North Cascades National Park. Heavy snows and a high risk of avalanches due to the steep terrain, especially on the western slopes, severely limit visitation in the winter. Most access to the park is from State Route 20, which follows the Skagit River, though even this road is closed for months at a time in the winter. Most of the plant and animal species native to the park region are still found there, though

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and pollutants from industrialized regions to the west pose risks to the environment. The park has one of the earliest and longest lasting research programs dedicated to studying climate change, primarily through examining the effects of glacial retreat. North Cascades National Park is almost entirely protected as wilderness, and so the park has few structures, roads or other improvements. Visitors wishing to drive to a campground must do so in the adjacent national forests or national recreation areas. Camping inside the park requires hiking in by trail, horseback or boat, and camping is regulated by a permit system to ensure the wilderness is not over-exploited. Mountaineering is popular in the park and only unobtrusive

clean climbing Clean climbing is rock climbing techniques and equipment which climbers use in order to avoid damage to the rock. These techniques date at least in part from the 1920s and earlier in England, but the term itself may have emerged in about 1970 dur ...

is allowed.

Human history

Paleoindians and Native Americans

Human history in North Cascades National Park and the surrounding region begins 8–10,000 years ago, after the end of the last glacial period. Paleo-Indians slowly advanced from

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...

into the interior mountain region as the glacial ice retreated. Archaeological evidence from other sites hundreds of miles away from the park indicate that Hozomeen

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a ...

, a type of rock well-suited to the fabrication of implements, was mined from near

Hozomeen Mountain Hozomeen Mountain is a double-summited rock peak on the east side of Ross Lake in the North Cascades of Washington state. Despite its modest absolute elevation, it is notable for the large, steep drops from both of its summits to the surround ...

, just east of the park border, for the last 8,400 years. Tools such as microblades made from Hozomeen chert are part of the archaeological record throughout the Skagit River Valley, west of the park and in regions to the east. Prehistoric micro blades 9,600 years old have been discovered at

Cascade Pass Cascade Pass (formerly also known as Skagit Pass When white explorers first entered the area in the late 18th century, an estimated thousand Native American Skagits lived in what is now North Cascades National Park as well as the surrounding area. Residing mainly to the west of the park near

, the Skagits lived in settlements, culling their needs from the waterways and traveling by canoe. Skagits formed a loose confederation of tribes that united if threatened by outside tribes such as the Haidas, who lived to the north. They erected large houses or lodges that could house multiple families, each with their own partitioned area and entrance. The lodges were in length and in width, and the roofs were shed-styles, with a single pitch; structures built by other Puget Sound tribes usually had

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

roofs with more than one pitch. The Skagits were generally lowlanders, who only ventured into the North Cascades during the summer months, and structures in the mountains were more modest, consisting mostly of temporary buildings erected with poles and covered with branches. The Skagits erected totem poles and participated in potlatch ceremonies, similar to the Haidas, but with less complexity and extravagance. By 1910, only about 56 Skagits remained in the region, but their numbers have since rebounded to several hundred. Inland and residing to the north and east of the Skagit tribe, the Nlaka'pamux (also known as the "Thompson Indians", named after explorer David Thompson), Chelan, Okanogan and Wenatchi (Wenatchee) tribes lived partly or year-round in the eastern sections of the North Cascades. The Skagits and Nlaka'pamux often had disputes, and raided one another's camps in search of slaves or to exact retribution. Like the coastal-based Skagits, inland tribes also constructed long lodges which were occupied by numerous families, though the style of construction was slightly different as the lodges did not have partitions separating one family from another, and were frame constructed and covered with reed mats rather than from cedar planking. One Wenatchee tribal lodge was described by Thompson as being long. Inland tribes were more likely to travel on foot or horseback than by canoe since the inland regions were less densely forested. Inland tribes also had less bountiful fisheries and greater weather extremes due to being further away from the moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean. Inland tribes rarely erected totem poles or participated in potlatch ceremonies. By the beginning of the 20th century, inland tribes, like their coastal neighbors, had experienced population decline from their first contact with white explorers a hundred years earlier, mostly due to

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

and other diseases.

Anglo-European exploration

The first white explorer to enter the North Cascades was most likely a Scotsman named Alexander Ross, who was in the employ of the American-owned Pacific Fur Company. To the southeast of the modern park boundary, Ross and other members of the company constructed

Fort Okanogan Fort Okanogan (also spelled Fort Okanagan) was founded in 1811 on the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers as a fur trade outpost. Originally built for John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, it was the first American-owned settle ...

in 1811, as a base from which to operate during the early period of the Pacific Northwest fur trade. Fort Okanogan was the first American settlement in present-day Washington State, well north of the route followed by members of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

of 1804–1806, and also north of

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of ...

, on the Columbia River. Fort Okanogan was later owned by the

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

, and then the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

, both of which were British-owned. Both Native American and white trappers conducted fur transactions at the trading post, which was staffed by representatives of the fur trading company. During one season, Ross traded 1,500 beaver pelts. In 1814, Ross became the first known white explorer to explore the valleys and high passes of the North Cascades, but he was less interested in exploration than discovering a route that would easily connect the fur trading posts of interior Washington with Puget Sound to the west. Ross was accompanied by three Indians, one of whom was a guide who led the party to a high pass in the North Cascades. Ross and the guide may have traveled as far west as the Skagit River, but failed to get to Puget Sound. Fur trading slowed considerably as demand for furs decreased in the 1840s, but a few residents continued to augment their income by trapping for furs in the area until 1968, when the park was established, rendering the activity illegal. Aside from isolated trappers, the North Cascades saw no further explorations until the 1850s. In 1853, US Army Captain George B. McClellan led a party that explored the area for potential locations for the construction of a railroad through the region. McClellan determined the mountains were too numerous and precipitous, and that any railway would have to be constructed well to the south. American and British disputes in the region centered on the fur trade, and the

Treaty of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 betw ...

allowed for joint administration of Oregon Country, as it was referred to in the United Statesthe

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

referred to the region as the

Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the disputed Oregon Country. It was explored by the North West Company bet ...

. The treaty set the international border at the 49th parallel, but this was disputed west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

, since the rival fur trading outfits had their own ideas about where the border should be. The Oregon boundary dispute between Britain and the United States eventually led to the Oregon Treaty of 1846, and the 49th parallel forms both the current international border as well as the northern limit of the current park. During the late 1850s, members of the US North West Boundary Commission explored the border region, attempting to identify which mountains, rivers and lakes belonged to which country. One party of the commission was led by explorer Henry Custer, and they explored the northern district of the park, publishing their report in the 1860s. Custer's party crossed Whatcom Pass in 1858, and were the first whites to see Challenger Glacier and Hozomeen Mountain. Impressed with the scenic grandeur of the region, Custer stated, "must be seen, it cannot be described". In 1882, US Army Lieutenant Henry Hubbard Pierce led a government-sponsored exploration that traversed the western boundary of the southern section of the current park, in search of transportation routes and natural resources. As with the party led by McClellan in the 1850s, Pierce failed to find a suitable route for a railway, and only marginally suitable routes for roads. However, the expedition discovered gold in a

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical f ...

vein on the slopes of

Eldorado Peak Eldorado Peak is a peak, and is the 25th highest peak in Washington. The mountain is located in the North Cascades of Washington, approximately east of Concrete. It is located in North Cascades National Park at the head of Marble Creek and ...

. Further expeditions by the military in 1883 and 1887 also determined that the mountains were virtually impenetrable. Explorers continued to seek out routes for wagon roads and railways and by the end of the 19th century, much of the park had been explored, but it was not until 1972 that the

North Cascades Highway North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

bisected the mountains.

Mining, logging and dam construction

Mineral prospectors entered the North Cascades region, and by the 1850s were doing placer mining along the banks of the Skagit River in search of gold. In the 1870s, placer mining also commenced along Ruby Creek, and hundreds of miners came to the region even though it was difficult to access. Most mining activity along Ruby Creek had ended by the 1880s, but was soon replaced by

hard rock mining Underground hard-rock mining refers to various underground mining techniques used to excavate "hard" minerals, usually those containing metals, such as ore containing gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, tin, and lead. It also involves the ...

for silver and other minerals. This second period of mining lasted from the 1890s to the 1940s, but was only marginally more lucrative. Miners were hampered by short working seasons, difficult terrain, low quantities of ore and a lack of financial investment. Miners built some of the first trails and roads into portions of the backcountry, some of which involved intricate engineering, including bridges over the numerous streams and dynamiting rock ledges above steep gorges during trail construction. One mining company built a series of flumes, the longest of which was over , to transport lumber and to supply water for use in their hydraulic mining operation. During the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, larger operations mined silver and lead in addition to gold, mostly with little or no profitability. The demand for metals was not constant, and so prices tended to fluctuate too greatly for mining to be viable. Once the region became a national park, some privately owned mining inholdings remained. One such inholding, the Thunder Creek mine, was still privately owned as of 1997. Unlike in many other regions of the Pacific Northwest, logging had little impact on the future park. The ruggedness of the terrain and the existence of more economically viable timber resources that were closer to transportation routes largely dissuaded the timber industry from logging in the area. In 1897 the Washington Forest Reserve was set aside, preserving the forestland that would later become the park. By 1905, the management of the reserve was transferred from the Department of the Interior to the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

. The Forest Service was subsequently created to administer these forest reserves nationwide, which were redesignated as National Forests. Though the Department of Agriculture allowed commercial enterprises to log the forest with a permit, most of the timber taken from the region was used only locally for the construction of cabins and similar small-scale enterprises. Logging expanded when the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project was commenced by the public utility

Seattle City Light Seattle City Light is the public utility providing electricity to Seattle, Washington, in the United States, and parts of its metropolitan area, including all of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park and parts of unincorporated King County, Burien, N ...

in the 1920s. Almost of timber would have been left underwater by the completion of the

Ross Dam Ross Dam is a -high, -long concrete thin arch dam across the Skagit River, forming Ross Lake. The dam is in Washington state, while Ross Lake extends north to British Columbia, Canada. Both dam and reservoir are located in Ross Lake National ...

. A contract to extract the timber was awarded in 1945 and the project was completed in 1958. None of the dams or areas that were extensively logged are within the current boundaries of the national park, but they are in the adjoining Ross Lake National Recreation Area.

Establishing the National Park

The establishment of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

in 1872, and

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

in 1890, led

preservationists Preservationist is generally understood to mean ''historic preservationist'': one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation u ...

to argue for similar protections for other areas. Even before the North Cascade region was designated as a Forest Reserve in 1897, activists argued the region should be afforded the greater protection accorded from a National Park designation. Washingtonians submitted a petition in 1892 to establish a national park to the north of Lake Chelan, as many who had visited the region believed it to have scenery "greater than Switzerland's". Further efforts took place in 1906, and again between 1916 and 1921, when artist Julian Itter and the Mazamas Alpine Club lobbied for a bill to designate "Mount Baker National Park". The proposals failed to gain approval from the US Congress and were shelved for decades. Not all locals supported the idea of a national park, as they felt that such a designation would damage the economics of the region. The Forest Service was also not in favor of park designation, as they would have to relinquish control over the land to the Park Service, which was not uncommon, since many parks being established were originally managed by the Forest Service. In an effort to appease their detractors, the Forest Service designated Primitive Areas which would provide increased protection to some of the most pristine regions they managed. By the mid-1930s, forester Bob Marshall argued that the region should be set aside as wilderness. Rival interests continued to argue over whether the lands should remain under the management of the Forest Service or the National Park Service, but by the 1960s the environmentalist argument advocating for a national park prevailed. President John F. Kennedy directed the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior to fund a joint study into a possible national park in the North Cascades region, which was completed in January 1966 and submitted to Congress. The size of the national park was subject to debate locally and in Congress, as well as its effect on the local logging industry. The North Cascades National Park Act designated the region as a

on October 2, 1968, and the National Park Service commenced direct management on January 1, 1969. The North Cascades National Park Act also designated Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas.

Redwood National Park The Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) are a complex of one national park and three state parks, cooperatively managed, located in the United States along the coast of northern California. Comprising Redwood National Park (established 1968 ...

in California was also signed into existence on the same day as the North Cascades. By 1988, much of Bob Marshall's original plan to set aside the future park as wilderness was achieved when almost all of North Cascades National Park was designated as the

Stephen Mather Wilderness The Stephen Mather Wilderness is a wilderness area honoring Stephen Mather, the first director of the National Park Service. It is located within North Cascades National Park, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, and Ross Lake National Rec ...

Park management

North Cascades National Park is managed by the National Park Service, and the park headquarters is in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. The park consists of a northern and a southern district or unit. These are separated by Ross Lake National Recreation Area. The southeast boundary of the southern district abuts Lake Chelan National Recreation Area; the park and two recreation areas are managed as the North Cascades National Park Complex. Most of the park complex was designated as the Stephen Mather Wilderness, preventing further human-induced alterations to 93 percent of the park. The mandate of the National Park Service is to "preserve and protect natural and cultural resources". In keeping with this mandate, hunting is illegal in the park, as is mining, logging, oil and gas extraction, and removal of natural or cultural resources. In 2016, North Cascades National Park recorded 28,646 visitors, while adjoining Ross Lake National Recreation Area reported 905,418 visitors and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area had 45,514 visitors. Peak visitation is between June and September. Ross Lake NRA is easily accessible on State Route 20, also known as the North Cascades Highway and the only road which bisects the park complex. North Cascades National Park Complex had an operating base budget of $7,700,000 for fiscal year 2010, augmented by another $3,700,000 of non-base funding (which can fluctuate significantly on an annual basis), and additional funding from revenue generated from concessionaire contracts and user fees. Much of the budget is for staffing, with 83 percent covering the cost of 81 permanent employees, not all of whom are employed year-round, and the nearly 250 seasonal and term employees who work primarily in the summer months. In 2017, the fiscal year budget was approximately 7.5 million dollars, and budgets have been stagnant overall for all National Park Service sites for many years.

Access

Although there are some gravel roads open to the public that enter the park, such as the Cascade River Road beginning at Marblemount, and the Thornton Lakes Road near Newhalem, most automobile traffic travels on State Route 20, which passes through the Ross Lake National Recreation Area. The visitor center at Newhalem on the North Cascades Highway is open in the summer. Some of the best views of Mount Shuksan are from the Heather Meadows Visitor Center in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest well outside of the park. All backcountry access requires a permit, and most are obtained at the Wilderness Information Center near Marblemount. Full accessibility for all is not available in the park, but the adjacent National Recreation Areas have a few trails, and all visitor centers, campgrounds and restrooms are fully accessible. The nearest large town on the west side of the park is Sedro-Woolley, and Winthrop lies to the east. Chelan is located at the southeastern end of Lake Chelan where access to the park from Stehekin serves eastern Washington communities. The closest international airport is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), which is from North Cascades Visitor Center and from Chelan. In Chelan, the ''Lady of the Lake'' is a passenger-only ferry that transports visitors to Stehekin, and the trailheads hikers can use to access the southern end of the park.

Geography

North Cascades National Park is located in portions of Whatcom, Skagit, and Chelan counties in the U.S. state of Washington. Bisected by Ross Lake National Recreation Area (NRA), the park consists of two districts; the northern and southern. The northern boundary of the north district is also the international border between the United States and Canada; the latter manages adjoining Chilliwack Lake and Skagit Valley Provincial Park. The entire eastern and southern boundary of the north district is bordered by Ross Lake NRA. The western side of the north district is bordered by Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, within which lies the

Mount Baker Mount Baker ( Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. ...

and Noisy-Diobsud Wildernesses, both of which border the park. Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest also borders a portion of the southern district of the park, to the southwest. Along the southwest border is Wenatchee National Forest, within which lies the Glacier Peak Wilderness. The southern boundary of the park is shared with Lake Chelan NRA, and a small section of the eastern boundary is shared with the

Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest The Okanogan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Okanogan County in north-central Washington, United States. The forest is bordered on the north by British Columbia, on the east by Colville National Forest, on the south by the ...

. The

Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness The Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness is a protected wilderness area located within the Okanogan and Wenatchee national forests in Washington State. The wilderness borders Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and North Cascades National Park ...

lies in the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest along the southeastern park boundary. North Cascades National Park has nearly of vertical relief, with the park's highest point atop Goode Mountain, and the western valleys situated at only around above mean

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

, the park has a highly varied ecosystem, including eight life zones. Erosion from water and glacial ice have created some of the steepest mountain ranges in the contiguous US, rising between above their bases. The park is home to over 300 glaciers as well as 300 lakes, and contains the headwaters for some streams that flow into the Skagit River, as well as the Stehekin and Nooksack Rivers. The ruggedness of the terrain was an obstacle to human encroachment and consequently, the park is almost entirely wilderness.

Geology

North Cascades National Park was named after the North Cascades mountains, which are a subsection of the Cascade Range that extends from northern California into British Columbia. The North Cascades are the northernmost section of the range and unlike their southern counterparts that consist of

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

volcanic rocks, the North Cascades are composed primarily of

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...

crystalline and

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...

s. Though most rocks in the park are from the more recent Mesozoic, the oldest rocks are 400 million years old, dating from the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, wh ...

. A complex assemblage of various rock formations have repeatedly been eroded, reburied, subjected to fracturing and heat, creating a geological puzzle that is one of the most complicated and least understood geological records in North America. These forces are ongoing and the region continues to see uplift and faulting. Evidence from the fossils and magnetism found in the rocks indicates that the

terrane In geology, a terrane (; in full, a tectonostratigraphic terrane) is a crust fragment formed on a tectonic plate (or broken off from it) and accreted or " sutured" to crust lying on another plate. The crustal block or fragment preserves its ow ...

s composing the North Cascades drifted thousands of miles north until they impacted the

North American Plate The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Paci ...

90 million years ago. The collision between the rocks caused fracturing and folding as well as uplift and the terranes were further fractured into north or south trending faults. The uplifted rocks mostly eroded away; 40 million years ago the heavier

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

ic rocks of the ocean floor started to push the lighter granitic rocks that are the core of the mountains upward, a process that continues. Subjected to intense heat, rocks deep underground near the collision zone became recrystallized into granitic rocks, which comprise the backbone of the highest peaks. Continued uplift and erosion and finally the action of glacial ice on the landscape during the

exposed the rocks visible today. Much harder and more durable than the younger volcanic rocks of the southern Cascades, the North Cascades are consequently more rugged, with steep terrain being the norm due to heavy erosion from water and ice. Continued rising in conjunction with erosion from water and ice has created deep valleys and significant vertical relief that is comparable to much taller mountain ranges.

Mountains

The tallest mountain in North Cascades National Park is Goode Mountain at . It lies in a remote backcountry region of the southern section of the park. Nearby are several other peaks that exceed , including Buckner Mountain () and Mount Logan (). At about , about northeast of Goode Mountain, is Black Peak (). Other prominent peaks in the southern section of the park include Boston Peak (),

() and Forbidden Peak (). The northern region of the park contains the

Picket Range The Picket Range is a small, extremely rugged subrange of the North Cascades in the northwestern part of the American state of Washington. It is entirely contained within North Cascades National Park. It is about long, running northwest–sout ...

, a subrange of the Skagit Range, which is in turn a subrange of the North Cascades. The Picket Range has numerous spires with ominous names such as Mount Fury, Mount Challenger, Poltergeist Pinnacle, Mount Terror, Ghost Peak and Phantom Peak, all of which exceed . The Picket Range is only long yet contains 21 peaks over . North of the Picket Range and near the border with Canada lie Mount Redoubt (),

Mount Spickard Mount Spickard (pronounced SPICK' erd) is a mountain peak in the North Cascades, a mountain range in the U.S. state of Washington. Located south of the Canada–US border, it is part of the Chilliwack Group, a subrange of the Skagit Range ...

() and the spires of the Mox Peaks (). Isolated and dominating the northwestern reaches of the park lies the oft photographed Mount Shuksan (), which towers more than above Baker Lake only to the south.

Water features

More than 500 lakes and ponds are located within North Cascades National Park. Many of these are devoid of fish, not uncommon in steep terrain where fish may not be able to access high altitude waterways. Around 240 of these lakes exist in the higher elevations and stocking of some of these lakes with fish has been ongoing since the late 19th century. Fishing in these lakes, which, without fish stocking, do not have native fish, is part of the area's economy and tourism. In 2008 an Environmental Impact Statement was produced that examined whether these lakes should continue to be stocked, and if so, what the impact would be on native species such as salamanders and other aquatic life. The North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act, signed in 2014, directs the NPS to allow stocking of non-reproducing fish in no more than 42 lakes, making it the only national park to continue to stock non-native fish in park lakes. The prior decision not to continue to stock the lakes with fish was part of a larger debate about what "natural" means in reference to national parks. Thunder Creek

Hundreds of creeks and streams and several rivers originate within the park. The streams at higher elevation are often directly supplied by meltwater from glaciers, and they carry finely ground rock particles commonly referred to as glacial flour. Turning the water a turquoise hue at times, this finely ground powder remains suspended in lakes the creeks flow into, also causing some of them to appear turquoise. Thunder Creek is particularly well known for this attribute, as it is supplied melt water from dozens of glaciers and transports the suspended particles into Diablo Lake. The Skagit River divides the park into the north and south districts; it lies outside the park boundaries, but some of the creeks and streams that supply it originate within the park; the Baker River is the largest of these tributaries. The Skagit River is the largest river that flows into Puget Sound to the west, and the dams located in Ross Lake National Recreation Area and impounding other lakes adjacent to the park supply nearly 90 percent of the electricity used in Seattle. Other important rivers that originate in the park include the Chilliwack, Nooksack and the Stehekin rivers.

Glaciers

With approximately 312 glaciers, North Cascades National Park has the most glaciers of any US park outside Alaska, and a third of all the glaciers in the lower 48 states. Counting a few glaciers in the adjoining National Recreation Areas, the North Cascades National Park Complex glaciers covered an expanse totaling as of 2009. Boston Glacier, on the north slope of Boston Peak, is the largest glacier in the park, measured in 1971 to have an area of . Other glaciers that were measured in 1971 to be larger than include East Nooksack and Sulphide Glaciers on Mount Shuksan, McAllister and Inspiration Glaciers on Eldorado Peak, Redoubt Glacier on Mount Redoubt, Neve Glacier on Snowfield Peak, and Challenger Glacier on Mount Challenger. Lowercurtis

The dense concentration and relative ease of access to the North Cascade glaciers brought about some of the earliest series of scientific studies regarding glaciology in the United States. Beginning in 1955, the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

sponsored Richard C. Hubley to undertake annual aerial photography expeditions designed to capture images of the glaciers and to show any alterations that might be occurring. In 1960, Austin Post expanded the aerial coverage to include other regions and he also used ground-based imagery to augment the research. In 1971, based on the photographs and other data collected since 1955, Post and others wrote a report that documented the number and scale of glaciers in the North Cascades. At the time of Austin Post's inventory, their study concluded that some North Cascades glaciers had experienced a period of minor growth or equilibrium in the mid-20th century, after undergoing decades of retreat. The study concluded that annual glacial melt due to seasonal variations has a significant influence on river levels, accounting for about 30 percent of the late summer water flow, which directly impacted the supported ecosystems such as salmon fisheries. The National Park Service, United States Geological Survey (USGS) and glaciologists such as

Mauri S. Pelto Mauri S. Pelto is a professor of environmental science at Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts and director of the North Cascades Glacier Climate Project. Work Mauri Pelto has been studying the glaciers in the North Cascades located in the U ...

, who has led the North Cascades Glacier Climate Project since 1984, have continued research on North Cascade glaciers. Since 1993, the National Park Service has conducted rigorous studies on four park glaciers: Noisy Creek,

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

, North Klawatti and Sandalee Glaciers. The National Park Service research indicated that these four glaciers experienced rapid decrease in volumes between 1993 and 2011. In 1998, a National Park Service and

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two dec ...

aerial photographic inventory showed a 13 percent loss in park-wide glacial volume since Austin Post's inventory in 1971. The NPS stated that in the last 150 years since the end of the Little Ice Age, a period of several centuries in which the earth experienced a cooling phase, glacial ice volumes in the North Cascades have been reduced by 40 percent. This loss of glacial ice has contributed to decreased melt in the summer. In a paper published in 2016, it was reported that since 1959 the Skagit River watershed has seen a 25 percent reduction in the summertime streamflow.

Map

Geographical features in the area can be found in this clickable map:

Ecology

Eight distinctive life zones support thousands of different plant and animal species in the North Cascades National Park

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

. With an elevation gain of nearly , the park has one of the largest ranges of biodiversity found in any US national park.

Flora

The flora in North Cascades National Park is influenced by the great vertical relief, the amount of moisture an area receives, the slope and soil types as well as the fire ecology. This wide array of

ecological niches In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition. Three variants of ecological niche are described by It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (for ...

has allowed a great biodiversity to evolve. Few other North American national parks have recorded as many vascular plant species as have been documented in North Cascades National Park. With 1,630 species documented, experts estimate adding non-vascular plants and

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...

could more than double the number of known plant species. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 25916

The park contains an estimated of old-growth forests. As little of the park was previously logged, significant stands of old growth forest can be found in the valleys and lower slopes up to the timberline at . From the lowest valley floors to about , virgin stands of western hemlock, red cedar and Douglas fir are common. These species are heavily dependent on deep soils, and red cedars 1,000 years old and over tall can be found on Big Beaver Creek. These lowest elevation forests can be accessed by trails, such as the Happy Creek Forest Walk off State Route 20, the Shadows of the Sentinels at Baker Lake, Thunder Creek Trail at Diablo Lake and the Horseshoe Bend Trail from State Route 542. In openings in the forest canopy,

red alder ''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana). Description Red alder is the largest species of alder in ...

and bigleaf maple can be found but throughout this dense forest, ferns, shrubs and mosses abound. Between the forest is dominated by the

pacific silver fir ''Abies amabilis'', commonly known as the Pacific silver fir, is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range. It is also commonly referred to as the white fir, red fir, love ...

tree near State Route 20 at Rainy Pass. Also at this elevation, the western hemlock is replaced by the mountain hemlock as a dominant species. At elevations between in the subalpine zone, the forest gives way to meadows dominated by grasses and flowering plants and shrubs. Above lies the

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

zone where few plant species survive aside from some sparse grasses, the occasional shrub and lichens. A warming climate has led to an altitude adjustment for many flora species, with the timberline reaching further up the mountain slopes since the 1960s. The biodiversity of the area is threatened by climate change and invasive

exotic plant An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

species. These plants have spread across the park through the inadvertent redistribution from human activities, attaching themselves to cars and hikers. Invasive plants include the diffuse knapweed and

reed canary grass ''Phalaris arundinacea'', or reed canary grass, is a tall, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, northern ...

. True grass species number nearly 150 in the park; half of those are considered exotic and nonnative to the ecosystem.

Whitebark pine ''Pinus albicaulis'', known by the common names whitebark pine, white bark pine, white pine, pitch pine, scrub pine, and creeping pine, is a conifer tree native to the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically subalpine ...

is native to the park and grows at elevations over in the drier eastern region of the park. Whitebark pine is a stabilizing species for other species of high altitude flora and provides a food source for birds such as the Clark's nutcracker and mammals including red and Douglas squirrels. Scientists believe that increasing temperatures will have a negative impact on the habitat necessary to support whitebark pine, and therefore impact a wide array of other species. White pine blister rust and mountain pine beetles have devastated whitebark pine populations in many regions; as of 2018, "28 percent of whitebark pine trees are dead, 30 percent are infected with blister rust, and 1 percent have died from mountain pine beetles."

Fauna

This park has a diversity of animal species including 75 mammal species. A total of 18 species of carnivores including

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...

, bobcat, lynx, cougar, mink, river otter and black bear have been reported within this park. Several species of

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

such as the elk and

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

, several more species of bovids including the mountain goat and

bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subsp ...

, and more than two dozen species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

s like the

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

, hoary marmot and pika are also present. Ten species of bats have been documented. The

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

is listed as an endangered species, while the grizzly bear is listed as

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depe ...

. North Cascade National Park has management plans in place to return grizzly bears to the park but not wolves, as the latter is seen as likely to reestablish themselves naturally over time. The park is a prime habitat for grizzly bear, but the species was extirpated from the region by 1860. Only two grizzly bear sightings occurred in the decade before 2015, and these were outside the park boundary in Canada. In 1991, a decision was reached by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, a US Government land management agency committee, to make efforts to restore self-sustaining populations of grizzlies in the North Cascades region, which included the national park and surrounding national forests. In 1997, the North Cascades region was added to the National Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan; by 2017, the environmental impact statement for grizzly bear restoration was still in the public comment stage. Various action plans had been proposed to reestablish a self-sustaining population of 200 grizzlies in the region. Mountain Goat North Cascades National Park

Mountain Goat North Cascades National Park

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...

s are one of the rarest and most elusive mammals in North America. They are seldom sighted in the park, both due to the limited numbers of the species and the habitats they prefer, which are snowy high-altitude regions far removed from human encroachment. Approximately nine wolverines were captured in the national forest east of the park and fitted with transmitters that were tracked by Argos satellite telemetry. Four of the wolverines frequented the southern sections of North Cascades National Park, and of those, two spent the majority of their time there; researchers were unable to determine if these study animals had reproduced in the park. A warming climate may impact any wolverine recovery efforts implemented due to the loss of snow cover this species needs to reproduce. Research indicates that wolverines den in deep snow at least deep that lasts well into May, and as climate warms, these regions are becoming less common, especially in the lower 48 states. More than 200 species of birds that pass through or use the park as a breeding ground have been recorded. These bird species include both golden and

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

as well as northern spotted owl, harlequin duck, Clark's nutcracker, trumpeter swan and seasonal appearances of western tanager, Cassin's vireo, pine grosbeak, woodpeckers such as the pileated woodpecker and primarily ground-dwelling birds such as the sooty grouse. The peregrine falcon is the only species found in the park that is federally designated as an endangered species, while the marbled murrelet and northern spotted owl are listed as threatened. There are at least 28 species of fish documented, including all five species of Pacific salmon:

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

, chinook (king), sockeye, coho and

chum Chum may refer to: Broadcasting * CHUM Limited, a defunct Canadian media company * CHUM Radio, now Bell Media Radio, a Canadian radio broadcasting company * CHUM (AM), a Toronto radio station * CHUM-FM, a Toronto radio station * CHUM Chart, ...

. Various trout species including rainbow,

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

can be found as can the

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, ...

and longnose dace. Seven species of reptiles and about a dozen species of amphibians have been documented. Reptiles such as the northern alligator lizard and the common garter snake and amphibians such as the western toad,

Pacific giant salamander The Pacific giant salamanders (frequently stylized as Giant Pacific Salamanders or GPS) are members of the genus ''Dicamptodon''. They are large salamanders endemic to the Pacific Northwest in North America. They are included in the family Ambyst ...

and rough-skinned newt reside in the park. More than 500 species of insects have been recorded, including at least two dozen species of butterflies. Around 250 species of aquatic invertebrates can be found in the parks waterways.

Fire

In North Cascades National Park, fire was used by Native Americans in the region near present-day Ross Lake to clear out brush, to ease foot travel, and possibly to flush animals out of the foliage. Evidence found in the patterns of tree growth as well as from tree ring analysis indicates human-caused fires were created for many hundreds of years. Similar evidence is found in the Stehekin Valley, where both smaller low intensity fires and larger fires are suggested by the growth patterns and burn scars in tree ring evidence. The low-intensity fires that were likely human induced were only found in the easternmost regions of the park. In the subalpine regions such as the Thunder Creek area, the studies concluded fire occurs at frequencies ranging from 30 years to 400 years. Across the entire North Cascades National Park Service Complex, between 1973 and 2003, there were 113 human-caused fires that burned , and 264 lightning-caused fires that burned . During this period, the largest fire consumed , mostly in Ross Lake National Recreation Area. North Cascades National Park Complex has three different zones with varying ratings for fire potential and severity. The park is managed as the Skagit Fire Management Unit (FMU) and has a low frequency of large natural fires that occur on average only every 50 to 400 years. North Cascades National Park has a condition type that shows "...natural (historical) range of variability of vegetation characteristics; fuel composition; fire frequency, severity and pattern; and other associated disturbances." This condition type, in keeping with the wilderness designation applied to most of the park, equates to a natural "let it burn" policy overall, so long as people and historical property are not threatened and the fire was lightning-caused. As part of the management plan, the few historic structures in the FMU are prioritized for fire protection including backcountry shelters like Beaver Pass Shelter, and fire lookouts such as Sourdough, Desolation and Copper lookout, all of which are on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Climate

The Cascade Range is tall enough to cause a significant rain shadow on the eastern slopes. Annually, the western portions of the park receive more precipitation than the eastern sections. The higher precipitation in the west also correlates to increased snowfall with more measured in the west than the east annually. On the western slopes, snowfall depths range from in lower altitudes annually, increasing to at elevations between above sea level. Snow depths peak in early March and range from depending on altitude. Snow covers the ground more than six months out of the year, even at lower elevations, and State Route 20, the only highway through the park, is generally closed from late November until late April. Numerous avalanche chutes, as many as traverse any state or federal highway, and including some over long, cross the highway and make snow removal during that period infeasible. Heavy snow and frequent avalanches are common, especially on the western slopes, from autumn to spring. The high elevation trails are generally open by mid-summer and the majority of tourism is between mid-June and late September. The east side of the park is generally warmer and drier, especially in the summer with highs reaching . Since the 1950s, there has been a five-degree Fahrenheit (2.77°C) mean winter minimum temperature increase at elevations above . This has led to a reduced winter snowpack as the mean winter freezing level is now higher. Overall the relative proximity of the Pacific Ocean moderates temperatures in the park, and it is warmer than other regions at a similar latitude farther inland.

Air and water quality

While North Cascades National Park is in a remote region for the most part, the prevailing westerly winds bring various pollutants into the park from the industrialized region around Puget Sound and the Fraser River Valley of British Columbia. These pollutants deposit onto plants and glaciers and are then carried by rainfall or ice melt and dispersed into rivers and lakes. The industrialized regions around Puget Sound and the Fraser River Valley have had a more noticeable negative impact on water and air quality than at

Mount Rainier National Park 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 fourth national park in the United States, preservin ...

well to the south due to the prevailing winds. Lakes at higher elevations show a higher level of acidity due to this phenomenon; the current and long-term impact on the ecosystem of the park has not yet been fully assessed. Mercury and toxins from pesticides have been detected in the park, as has

ozone Ozone (), or trioxygen, is an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , breaking down in the l ...

; these have not been demonstrated to be at sufficient concentrations to greatly impact the ecosystem. Sulfur, nitrogen dioxide and ozone from factories and automobile emissions as well as increased dust and fine particulates from sources such as farming and construction are dispersed into the atmosphere, reducing long-range visibility. Visibilities of up to have been reduced to less than on the worst days due to the increased haze. Climate change will impact the temperatures of high altitude lakes and streams, which in turn will have an effect on the fish that can thrive in these waters. Retreating glaciers reduce the amount of glacial ice melt available in warmer months that kept streams and lakes cold, even in late summer.

Attractions

North Cascades National Park is approximately northeast of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

. Nearly all of the national park is protected as the

and it is "one of the premier wilderness parks" in the lower-48 states". Unlike some national parks, there is no entrance fee at North Cascades, and hiking trailheads accessed by vehicle do not require a parking pass; trailheads on some national forest properties adjacent to the park may require a pass. Mount Shuksan, in the northwest corner of the park, is often photographed, and at is the second highest peak in the park.

Camping, hiking and bicycling

Hikers and backpackers often visit

Cascade Pass Cascade Pass (formerly also known as Skagit Pass Hikers can also access two National Scenic Trails including of the Pacific Crest Trail in the southern unit of the park and of the

Pacific Northwest Trail The Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) is a 1200-mile hiking trail running from the Continental Divide in Montana to the Pacific Ocean on Washington's Olympic Coast. Along the way, the PNT crosses three national parks, seven national forests, and two ...

that passes through the northern unit. The north and south

s, Mount Triumph, Eldorado Peak and Boston Peak regions are popular backcountry camping zones. Unlike most US national parks, there are no places within North Cascades National Park where one can drive to a campground. There are many vehicular access camp grounds in Ross Lake National Recreation Area and in surrounding national forests. All overnight camping is considered backcountry camping and camping areas are protected to prevent overcrowding. Backcountry camping spots can be reserved in early spring only; walk-up permits can be obtained at the Wilderness Information Center near Marblemount. Since the vast majority of the park is designated wilderness, the goal is to ensure all hikers and backcountry travelers enjoy the opportunities for solitude. Group sizes are limited to parties of less than a dozen on what are known as trail and camping corridors, and in more remote areas off trails, groups larger than six are not permitted. Bicycles are allowed in the park but only on the same roads that vehicles are allowed on. No mountain bike access is allowed on hiking trails. Hiker/biker camping is available at Newhalem Campground, Colonial Creek, and near Stehekin.

Mountaineering

High quality climbing routes on the numerous cliffs, ice and other challenges make the park a favorite destination for many mountaineering enthusiasts. While some peaks and cliffs can be accessed fairly easily, the most remote ones entail a multi-day excursion, challenging for even experienced mountaineers. The park has banned the installation of any new fixed anchors such as pitons, and only removable anchors such as chocks and cams are permitted. This

has been implemented to help protect the resource, since fixed point anchors deface the rock and are considered intrusive. With much of the rock climbing and mountaineering done above the tree line, the effort to protect alpine ecosystems is of paramount importance. Leave No Trace policies are strictly enforced and encouraged, such as camping only on bare rock, using only a camp stove, storing food safely where animals cannot get to it, and carrying out or properly burying human waste as necessary. Mountaineering in the North Cascades was first popularized by Fred Beckey; at age 15 he was the first to reach the summit of Sinister Peak in 1938, in 1939 he was the first atop Mount Despair, and the following year he was the first to climb Forbidden Peak. Beckey was the first to summit at least two dozen peaks in the North Cascades, and his exhaustive three-volume Cascade Alpine Guide books, first published in the early 1970s, have been called the "Beckey Bible".

References

External links

* of th
National Park Service
* Education
North Cascades Institute
* Glacier Research
North Cascade Glacier Climate Project reports
{{authority control 1968 establishments in Washington (state) Archaeological sites in Washington (state) National parks in Washington (state) . Parks in Chelan County, Washington Parks in Skagit County, Washington Parks in Whatcom County, Washington Protected areas established in 1968