Crescent Mountain, a ridge-like peak standing at 6,715 ft (2,047 m), is located in north-central

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...

, in Pierce County of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

state. It is part of the

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

, and lies due north of the summit of

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

. Sluiskin Mountain is its nearest higher neighbor, to the east. Precipitation runoff from Crescent Mountain drains west into tributaries of the

Carbon River The Carbon River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. It flows about 30 miles (48 km) from its source, the Carbon Glacier on Mount Rainier, to join the Puyallup River at Orting. Charles Wilkes called the river the "Upthascap Rive ...

History

The mountain's descriptive name,

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

, originates from its crescent shape as it envelops Crescent Lake. Geologist

Bailey Willis Bailey Willis (March 31, 1857 in Idle Wild-on-Hudson, New York, United States – February 19, 1949 in Palo Alto, California) was a geological engineer who worked for the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and lectured at two prominent Ameri ...

named this feature in 1883.Mount Rainier National Park Place Names. Gary Fuller Reese (author), 2009. The name was officially adopted in 1932 by the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...

Climate

Crescent Mountain lies within the

marine west coast An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

climate zone of western North America.Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008. Most

weather front A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For ins ...

s originating in the Pacific Ocean move northeast toward the

Cascade Mountains 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 many of those in the ...

. As these fronts approach, they are lifted by the Cascade Range's peaks (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), resulting in precipitation in the form of rain or snow over the Cascades. As a result, the west side of the Cascades experiences high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. Due to maritime influence, maritime influences, the snow is typically wet and heavy, posing a significant

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

risk. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer. The months July through September offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.

References

External links

* National Park Service web site
Mount Rainier National Park
* Crescent Mountain
weather forecast
{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = Crescent Mountain , North = Crescent Lake , Northeast = Windy Gap , East = Sluiskin Mountain , Southeast = Skyscraper Mountain , South =

Old Desolate Old Desolate is a multi-summit, ridge-like mountain located in Mount Rainier National Park, in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state. It is part of the Cascade Range, and lies due north of the ...

, Southwest = Carbon Glacier , WSW = Wonderland Trail , West = Mother Mountain , Northwest = Chenuis Mountain Cascade Range Mountains of Pierce County, Washington Mountains of Washington (state) Mount Rainier National Park Two-thousanders of the United States

History

Climate

See also

References

External links