Crystal Peak (Washington)
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Crystal Peak is a 6,595-foot (2,010 meter) summit located in eastern
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. Crystal Peak is situated northwest of
Chinook Peak Chinook Peak is a summit located on the eastern border of Mount Rainier National Park. It is also on the shared border of Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and Yakima County, Washington, Yakima County in Washington (U.S. state), Washing ...
, and nearly on the crest 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 ...
. Crystal Mountain and Crystal Lakes lie immediately to the northeast, and
Three Way Peak Three Way Peak is a summit located on the eastern border of Mount Rainier National Park. It is also on the shared border of Pierce County and Yakima County in Washington state. Three Way Peak is situated 0.42 mi (0.68 km) north of C ...
is to the east. Access to the summit (which was a former fire lookout site) is via a hiking trail which branches off from the Crystal Lakes Trail. That trailhead starts along
Highway 410 The following highways are numbered 410: Canada *Manitoba Provincial Road 410 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 410 * Ontario Highway 410 * Quebec Autoroute 410 Japan * Japan National Route 410 Philippines * N410_highway_(Philippines) Thailan ...
, which traverses the western base of the mountain.HikingProject.com Crystal Lakes Trail
/ref> Precipitation runoff from Crystal Peak drains into tributaries of the White River.


Climate

Crystal Peak is located in 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 travel 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 fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range (
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 ...
), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snow onto the Cascades. As a result, the west side of the Cascades experiences high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. Because of maritime influence, snow tends to be wet and heavy, resulting in high
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 ...
danger. 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 of July through September offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.


Gallery

File:Crystal Lake MRNP.jpg, Crystal Peak seen from Upper Crystal Lake File:Crystal Peak MRNP.jpg, East aspect File:Mt Rainier Crystal Lakes July 2103.jpg, Crystal Peak with Mt. Rainier upper left


See also

*
Geography of Washington (state) Washington is the northwesternmost state of the contiguous United States. It borders Idaho to the east, bounded mostly by the meridian running north from the confluence of the Snake River and Clearwater River (Idaho), Clearwater River (about 11 ...
*
Geology of the Pacific Northwest The geology of the Pacific Northwest includes the composition (including rock, minerals, and soils), structure, physical properties and the processes that shape the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The region is part of the Ring of Fir ...


References


External links

* National Park Service web site
Mount Rainier National Park
* Washington Trails Association
Crystal Peak
{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = Crystal Peak , North = White River , Northeast = Crystal Mountain , East =
Three Way Peak Three Way Peak is a summit located on the eastern border of Mount Rainier National Park. It is also on the shared border of Pierce County and Yakima County in Washington state. Three Way Peak is situated 0.42 mi (0.68 km) north of C ...
, Southeast =
Chinook Peak Chinook Peak is a summit located on the eastern border of Mount Rainier National Park. It is also on the shared border of Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and Yakima County, Washington, Yakima County in Washington (U.S. state), Washing ...
, South =
Deadwood Peak Deadwood Peak is a mountain summit located on the eastern border of Mount Rainier National Park. It is also situated on the shared border of Pierce County and Yakima County in Washington state. Deadwood Peak is set on the crest of the Cascade ...
, Southwest =
Governors Ridge Governors Ridge is located in Mount Rainier National Park in Pierce County of Washington state. It is part of the Cascade Range and is situated west of Cayuse Pass and 1.09 mile east of Tamanos Mountain, which is the nearest higher peak. Pr ...
, West =
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 ...
, WNW =
Dege Peak Dege Peak is a 7,009-foot (2,136 m) summit located in Pierce County of Washington state. It is part of the Sourdough Mountains in Mount Rainier National Park. It was named in 1932 for James Henry Dege (born 1868), a prominent Tacoma busine ...
, Northwest =
Marcus Peak Marcus Peak is a summit located in Mount Rainier National Park in Pierce County of Washington state. It is part of the Sourdough Mountains which are a small subset of the Cascade Range, and it is situated north of Dege Peak. The peak was ...
Cascade Range Mountains of Pierce County, Washington Mountains of Washington (state) Two-thousanders of the United States