The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in
western Washington that lies across
Puget Sound from
Seattle, and contains
Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the
Pacific Ocean, the north by the
Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by
Hood Canal.
Cape Alava
Cape Alava is a cape in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Located in Clallam County, Washington. The cape is situated within Olympic National Park and the Makah Indian Reservation, and is accessible via a 3-mile boardwalk hik ...
, the westernmost point in the contiguous
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, and
Cape Flattery, the northwesternmost point, are on the peninsula. Comprising about , the Olympic Peninsula contained many of the last unexplored places in the
contiguous United States. It remained largely unmapped until Arthur Dodwell and Theodore Rixon mapped most of its topography and timber resources between 1898 and 1900.
Geography
Clallam and
Jefferson Counties, as well as the northern parts of
Grays Harbor Grays Harbor is an estuarine bay located north of the mouth of the Columbia River, on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state, in the United States of America. It is a ria, which formed at the end of the last ice age, when sea levels floo ...
and
Mason Counties, are on the peninsula. The
Kitsap Peninsula, bounded by the Hood Canal and Puget Sound, is an entirely separate peninsula and is not connected to the Olympic Peninsula.
From
Olympia, the state capital,
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
runs along the Olympic Peninsula's eastern, northern, and western shorelines.
The
Olympic mountain range sits in the center of the Olympic Peninsula. This range is the second largest in Washington State. Its highest peak is
Mt. Olympus.
A major effort called the
Wild Olympics campaign is under way to protect additional wilderness areas on the Olympic Peninsula, protect salmon streams under the Wild and Scenic River Act and provide a means for Olympic National Park to offer to buy land adjacent to the Park from willing sellers.
Climate
Most of the peninsula has an
oceanic climate, or ''Cfb'' under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
. Most populated areas, however, have a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, or ''Csb''.
The Olympic Peninsula is home to
temperate rain forests, including the
Hoh, Queets Rain Forest, and
Quinault. Rain forest vegetation is concentrated primarily in the western part of the peninsula, as the interior mountains create a
rain shadow effect in areas to the northeast, resulting in a much drier climate in those locales.
Rivers
Major salmon-bearing rivers on the Olympic Peninsula include, clockwise from the southwest, the
Humptulips
Humptulips is a census-designated place (CDP) in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population of the CDP was 255 according to the 2010 census.
Etymology
The name Humptulips was the name of a band of the Chehalis tribe who live ...
, the
Quinault, the
Queets, the
Quillayute,
Bogachiel, the
Sol Duc, the
Lyre, the
Elwha (see
Elwha Ecosystem Restoration
The Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project is a 21st-century project of the U.S. National Park Service to remove two dams on the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state, and restore the river to a natural state. It is the largest ...
), the
Dungeness, the
Dosewallips, the
Hamma Hamma, the
Skokomish, and the
Wynoochee River.
Lakes
Natural lakes on the peninsula include
Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent is a deep lake located entirely within Olympic National Park in Clallam County, Washington, United States, approximately west of Port Angeles on U.S. Route 101 and nearby to the small community of Piedmont. At an official maximu ...
,
Lake Ozette,
Lake Sutherland,
Lake Quinault
Lake Quinault ( or ) is a lake on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington state. It is located in the glacial-carved Quinault Valley of the Quinault River, at the southern edge of Olympic National Park in the northwestern United States. One ...
, and
Lake Pleasant. Two dammed rivers form the reservoirs of
Lake Cushman and
Wynoochee Lake; two previous reservoirs, destroyed in the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration were
Lake Aldwell (behind the former
Elwha Dam) and
Lake Mills (behind the former
Glines Canyon Dam
Glines Canyon Dam, also known as Upper Elwha Dam, built in 1927, was a high concrete arch dam built on the Elwha River within Olympic National Park, Clallam County, Washington.
It was located upstream from the mouth of the Elwha River at the S ...
).
Parks
The peninsula contains many state and national parks, including
Anderson Lake,
Bogachiel,
Dosewallips,
Fort Flagler,
Fort Worden,
Lake Cushman,
Mystery Bay,
Old Fort Townsend,
Potlatch,
Sequim Bay,
Shine Tidelands, and
Triton Cove state parks;
Olympic National Park; and the
Olympic National Forest. Within the Olympic National Forest, there are five designated
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 ...
:
The Brothers,
Buckhorn,
Colonel Bob,
Mt. Skokomish, and
Wonder Mountain. Just off the west coast is the
Washington Islands Wilderness.
Politics
The Olympic Peninsula is represented in the
U.S. House of Representatives by
Democrat Derek Kilmer
Derek Christian Kilmer (born January 1, 1974) is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for Washington's 6th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the Washington Hous ...
. It is represented in the
Washington State Legislature by Democratic
state senator
A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
Description
A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...
Kevin Van De Wege and Democratic
state representatives Mike Chapman and
Steve Tharinger.
Gallery
File:Cedar Creek Abbey Island Ruby Beach.jpg, Cedar Creek and Abbey Island, Kalaloch Area
File:ElwhaRiverCurve.JPG, Hoh River
File:Hoh Rain Forest Entrance Sign.jpg, National Park Service Sign at the entrance of Hoh Rain Forest
File:HurricaneRidgeDaytime.JPG, Hurricane Ridge
File:Lake Crescent spring.jpg, Lake Crescent
File:ElwhaRiverDaytime.JPG, Elwha River
File:Point of the Arches, Olympic National Park.jpeg, Point of the Arches
File:Fog at Hurricane Ridge.jpg, A foggy day at Hurricane Ridge
Mount Constance.jpg, Mount Constance
Cities and towns in the Olympic Peninsula
Population of at least 10,000
*
Port Angeles
Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021.
The city's har ...
*
Aberdeen
*
Shelton
Population of at least 5,000
*
Hoquiam
*
Ocean Shores
*
Port Townsend
Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census.
It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition t ...
*
Sequim
Sequim ( ) is a city in Clallam County, Washington, United States. It is located along the Dungeness River near the base of the Olympic Mountains. The 2010 census counted a population of 6,606.
Sequim lies within the rain shadow of the Olympic M ...
Population of at least 1,000
*
Forks
In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods eit ...
*
Port Hadlock
*
Port Ludlow
Population of less than 1,000
*
Amanda Park
*
Brinnon
*
Chimacum
*
Clallam Bay
*
Discovery Bay
*
Eldon
*
Hoodsport
*
Humptulips
Humptulips is a census-designated place (CDP) in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population of the CDP was 255 according to the 2010 census.
Etymology
The name Humptulips was the name of a band of the Chehalis tribe who live ...
*
Kalaloch
*
La Push
*
Lilliwaup
*
Moclips
*
Neah Bay
*
Ocean City
*
Ozette
*
Pacific Beach
*
Potlatch
*
Quilcene
*
Quinault
*
Sekiu
*
Union
References
External links
*
Olympic National ParkA web-based museum showcasing aspects of the rich history and culture of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula communities. Features cultural exhibits, curriculum packets and a searchable archive of over 12,000 items that includes historical photographs, audio recordings, videos, maps, diaries, reports and other documents.
*
PBS - Scraping together Mt. Olympus - Nick on the Rockson YouTube
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Peninsulas of Washington (state)
Landforms of Clallam County, Washington
Landforms of Jefferson County, Washington
Landforms of Grays Harbor County, Washington
Landforms of Mason County, Washington