Crystal Peak is a 6,595-foot (2,010 meter) summit located in eastern
Mount Rainier National Park, in
Pierce County of
Washington 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), Washingto ...
, 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 and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
.
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
Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park w ...
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
Route 410, also known as Dorset Trail, is an north-south highway on the northern coast of Newfoundland in the Canadian province o ...
, which traverses the western base of the mountain.
HikingProject.com Crystal Lakes Trail
/ref> Precipitation runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...
from Crystal Peak drains into tributaries of the White River.
Climate
Crystal Peak is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.[Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008.] Most weather fronts originating in the Pacific Ocean travel northeast toward the Cascade Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range ( orographic lift), 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 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.
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 (about 117°02'23" west), except f ...
* Geology of the Pacific Northwest
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
Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park w ...
, 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), Washingto ...
, South = Deadwood Peak
Deadwood Peak is a 6,280-foot-elevation (1,914 meter) mountain summit located on the eastern border of Mount Rainier National Park. It is also situated on the shared border of Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and Yakima County, Washington ...
, Southwest = Governors Ridge
Governors Ridge
is 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 is situated west of Cayuse Pass and 1.09 mile east of Taman ...
, West = Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...
, WNW = Dege Peak
Dege Peak is a 7,006-foot (2,135 m) summit located in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state.
It is part of the Sourdough Mountains in Mount Rainier National Park. It was named in 1932 for James ...
, 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)
North American 2000 m summits