Dege Peak is a 7,009-foot (2,136 m) summit located 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
Sourdough Mountains in
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 ...
. It was named in 1932 for James Henry Dege (born 1868), a prominent Tacoma businessman and Captain of the First Regiment National Guard of Washington.
[''Mount Rainier National Park Place Names'', Gary Fuller Reese.
April 10, 2009, p. 31.]
The peak is a popular hiking destination with views of the
Emmons Glacier
Emmons Glacier is on the northeast flank of Mount Rainier, in Washington. At , it has the largest surface area of any glacier in the contiguous United States. The glacier was named after the geologist Samuel Franklin Emmons after his involvement ...
,
Winthrop Glacier
The Winthrop Glacier is a large glacier on the northeastern side of Mount Rainier in Washington. Named after Theodore Winthrop, the body of ice covers 3.5 mile2 (9.1 km2) and has a volume of 18.5 billion feet3 (523 million m3). Starting at o ...
,
Inter Glacier,
Fryingpan Glacier
Fryingpan Glacier is on the eastern face of the Little Tahoma Peak, just to the east of Mount Rainier in the U.S. state of Washington. The glacier is located on top of a cliff from the Emmons Glacier to the north and a small ridge separates this ...
,
Little Tahoma Peak
Little Tahoma Peak, also called Little Tahoma, is a satellite peak of Mount Rainier in Pierce County, Washington and in Mount Rainier National Park. It is quite noticeable from Seattle over away.
Little Tahoma Peak is a volcanic remnant. I ...
, and views in all directions because the trail is above
tree line
The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...
. The trail starts at the
Sunrise Historic District
The Sunrise Historic District, also known as the community of Sunrise, Washington, is located at approximately on a ridge overlooking the northeast side of Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park. The district comprises seven individual ...
. Access is limited by snowpack closing the Sunrise Road much of the year. July, August, and September are the months when the Sunrise Road is seasonally open for vehicle traffic.
Antler Peak is the nearest higher neighbor, to the west.
Precipitation
runoff from Dege Peak drains into the
White River.
Climate
Dege 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:Dege Peak 5915.JPG, Dege Peak
File:James Henry Dege.png, James Henry Dege
See also
*
*
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
* {{commons and category inline
* National Park Service web site
Mount Rainier National Park* Weather
Dege Peak
* Dege Peak
YouTube
Cascade Range
Mountains of Pierce County, Washington
Mountains of Washington (state)
Mount Rainier National Park
Two-thousanders of the United States
Cascade Volcanoes