The Henry M. Jackson Wilderness is a designated

wilderness area 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 ...

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 ...

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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The area lies adjacent to the southwest corner of the

Glacier Peak Wilderness Glacier Peak Wilderness is a , , wilderness area located within portions of Chelan, Snohomish, and Skagit counties in the North Cascades of Washington. The area lies within parts of Wenatchee National Forest and Mount Baker National Forest ...

, northwest of

Stevens Pass Stevens Pass (elevation ) is a mountain pass through the Cascade Mountains located at the border of King County and Chelan County in Washington, United States. U.S. Route 2 travels over the pass, reaching a maximum elevation of . The Pacific ...

on U.S. Highway 2 and northeast of the town of

Skykomish, Washington Skykomish is a town in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 198 as of the 2010 census, down from an estimated peak of "several thousand" in the 1920s. Located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, 49 miles east o ...

. Wild Sky Wilderness is located immediately southwest of the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness. While the wilderness straddles the

Cascade Mountain Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

, most of it is in the westside ecotype. The wilderness lies in parts of Snoqualmie,

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. Mount ...

, and

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

national forests.

History

The Henry M. Jackson Wilderness was created by the 1984 Washington Wilderness Act and named after former U.S. Senator

Henry M. Jackson Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington. A Cold War liberal and a ...

of Washington. Senator Jackson was instrumental in the designation of many of the state's wildernesses, and this "forest" of fabled peaks recalls his efforts. Cross-Cascade Indian trails paralleled the Little Wenatchee River and provided routes for later exploring parties such as the 1860 E.F. Cady party for whom

Cady Pass Cady may refer to: Places United States * Cady, Wisconsin, a town * Cady Mountains, California * Cady Pond, Massachusetts * Cady Lake, South Dakota * Camp Cady, California, a United States Army camp in 1860–1861 and 1866–1871 Elsewhere * C ...

and Cady Creek were named. The area is rich in mining history with several acres of patented mining claims within its borders.

Geographic features

The terrain is rugged, with steep slopes, and finger ridges dissected by small intermittent or permanent drainages. Streams in the northern portion of this area drain into the Sauk River, while the southern portion drains into the Skykomish River. Main features of this area include Skykomish Peak, Cady Creek Ridge and Cady Creek, as well as the Beckler River's tributary the Rapid River, the true source of the South Fork Skykomish River. The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail traverses the southern portion of the wilderness. The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail winds down the high heart of the area for about 32 miles. Other trails snake up from the east and west to join the PCT. The Blanca Lake Trail leads 3.5 miles to Blanca Lake, and five short pathways approach the center of the northwest section and fade to bushwhacking terrain. The wilderness area contains approximately 30 lakes which receive moderate fishing. One of the most popular of these lakes is

Blanca Lake Blanca Lake is located in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness Area in the Cascade Mountains of the U.S. state of Washington. Blanca Lake sits in a basin surrounded by the peaks of Monte Cristo, Kyes, and Columbia. The lake is fed by the Columbi ...

due to its beautiful turquoise green color.

Flora and fauna

A tall forest covers the lower elevations, then thins out and changes in species to eventually open into broad meadows on many ridge tops. The vegetation includes

western redcedar ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae, w ...

, Douglas fir, true firs,

Engelmann spruce ''Picea engelmannii'', with the common names Engelmann spruce, white spruce, mountain spruce, and silver spruce, is a species of spruce native to western North America. It is mostly a high-altitude mountain tree but also appears in watered canyon ...

western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma ...

mountain hemlock ''Tsuga mertensiana'', known as mountain hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, found between Southcentral Alaska and south-central California. Description ''Tsuga mertensiana'' is a large evergreen conifer ...

, sub-alpine meadows, and at higher elevations, alpine meadows.

References

External links

Henry M. Jackson Wilderness (Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest)
U.S. Forest Service
Henry M. Jackson Wilderness (Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest)
U.S. Forest Service
Henry M. Jackson Wilderness
Wilderness.net (The University of Montana) {{Authority control Cascade Range Protected areas of Chelan County, Washington IUCN Category Ib Protected areas of King County, Washington Protected areas of Snohomish County, Washington Wilderness areas of Washington (state) Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Wenatchee National Forest

History

Geographic features

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links