Kendall Peak is a mountain located on the county line separating
King County and
Kittitas 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 within the
Alpine Lakes Wilderness
The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a large National Wilderness Preservation System, wilderness area spanning the Central Cascades of Washington (state), Washington state in the United States. The wilderness is located in parts of Wenatchee National ...
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 ...
.
Kendall Peak is situated two miles northeast of
Snoqualmie Pass on land managed by
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
runoff on the east side of the mountain drains into Silver Creek and makes its way to the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
via
Yakima River
The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam N ...
, whereas the west side of the mountain drains into the South Fork
Snoqualmie River
The Snoqualmie River is a long river in King County, Washington, King County and Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The river's three main tributaries are the North, Middle, and So ...
via Commonwealth Creek. The
Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...
traverses its west flank and an exposed section of the trail called
Kendall Katwalk has seen tragic deaths over the years, most recently September 5, 2018.
Logan Stanley, ''Olympia woman falls and dies while hiking on Kendall Katwalk near Snoqualmie Pass'', Theolympian.com
/ref> The nearest higher peak is Red Mountain, to the north-northwest.[
]
Climate
Kendall 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
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
.[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 originate in the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
, and 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, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the Cascades (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 ...
). As a result, the west side of the Cascades experiences high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. 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.[ Beckey, p. 16] 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.
Geology
The Cascades feature rugged topography with craggy peaks, ridges, and deep glacial valley
U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...
s. Geological events occurring many years ago created the diverse topography and drastic elevation changes over the Cascade Range leading to the various climate differences. These climate differences lead to vegetation variety defining the ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
s in this area. The history of the formation of the Cascade Mountains dates back millions of years ago to the late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
Epoch.[ During the ]Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
period dating back over two million years ago, glaciation advancing and retreating repeatedly scoured the landscape leaving deposits of rock debris.[ The U-shaped cross section of the river valleys is a result of recent glaciation. Uplift and faulting in combination with glaciation have been the dominant processes which have created the tall peaks and deep valleys.
]
See also
* List of peaks of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness
References
External links
* Weather forecast
Kendall PeakAlpine Lakes Wilderness (Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest)
U.S. Forest Service
{{Geographic Location 2
, Center = Kendall Peak
, North = Red Mountain
, Northeast = Huckleberry Mountain
, ENE = Chikamin Peak
, East = Alta Mountain
, Southeast = Rampart Ridge
, South = Keechelus Lake
, Southwest = Snoqualmie Pass
, WSW = Denny Mountain
, West = Guye Peak
, WNW = Snoqualmie Mountain
, Northwest = Lundin Peak
Mountains of Washington (state)
Mountains of King County, Washington
Mountains of Kittitas County, Washington
Cascade Range
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
One-thousanders of the United States