The Chiwaukum Mountains are a north–south

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in central Washington, United States. They stretch from

Snowgrass Mountain Snowgrass Mountain is a mountain summit located in Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state. Snowgrass Mountain is situated northeast of Frosty Pass and within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Snowgra ...

at , to . The mountains are made of

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

, part of the Nason

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 ...

. The original rock in the Nason terrane was laid down 210 Myr ago. The terrane then smashed into the western coastline of the continent, and the

Mount Stuart Mount Stuart is a mountain in the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the second highest non-volcanic peak in the state, after Bonanza Peak and seventh-highest overall. Mount Stuart is the highest peak in the Stuart Range, ...

batholith A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate rock types, su ...

intruded into it in the late

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

. The intrusion of the granitic rock metamorphosed the rock into schist. In July 2014, the lightning-caused Chiwaukum Creek Fire burned the east flank of the Chiwaukum Mountains. Partial list of peaks: *

Big Chiwaukum Big Chiwaukum is a prominent mountain summit located in Chelan County of Washington state. Big Chiwaukum is situated northeast of Frosty Pass, and within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Big Chiwaukum is the highest peak in the Chiwaukum Mounta ...

– 8,081' (2463m) – *

– 7,993' (2436m) – *

Big Lou Big Lou is a mountain summit located in Chelan County of Washington state. It is situated west-northwest of Leavenworth, on the boundary of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and on land managed by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. Big Lou ...

– 7,780' (2370m) – * Big Jim Mountain – 7,765' (2367m) – *

Ladies Peak Ladies Peak is a mountain summit located in Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state. Ladies Peak is situated west-northwest of Leavenworth, Washington, Leavenworth, within the Alpine Lakes Wilderne ...

– 7,708' (2349m) – * Grindstone Mountain – 7,533' (2296m) – *

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

– 7,316' (2230m) – *

Bulls Tooth Bulls Tooth is a multi-peak mountain located in Chelan County of Washington state. Bulls Tooth is situated southeast of Stevens Pass, and within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, on land managed by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. Bull ...

– 6,840' (2080m) – Nearby peaks: *

Jim Hill Mountain Jim Hill Mountain is a prominent mountain summit located in Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state. Jim Hill Mountain is situated east of Stevens Pass, on the boundary of Alpine Lakes Wildernes ...

– 6,765' (2062m) – *

Arrowhead Mountain Arrowhead Mountain is a mountain located on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially ...

– 6,020' (1835m) – * Cowboy Mountain – 5,853' (1784m) –

References

{{Authority control Cascade Range Mountain ranges of Washington (state) Landforms of Chelan County, Washington

See also

References