Magic Mountain is a mountain summit located on the shared boundary of Skagit County and Chelan County in Washington state. It is part of the North Cascades Range, a subset 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, ...

. Magic Mountain is situated southeast of

Cascade Pass Cascade Pass (formerly also known as Skagit Pass North Cascades National Park North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Par ...

and Glacier Peak Wilderness. The nearest peak is

Pelton Peak Pelton Peak is a mountain summit located in Chelan County of Washington state. It is part of the North Cascades, a subset of the Cascade Range. Pelton Peak is situated southeast of Cascade Pass in North Cascades National Park near the northe ...

to the northeast, and the nearest higher peak is

Hurry-up Peak Hurry-up Peak is a 7,821-foot-elevation summit located on the shared boundary of Skagit County and Chelan County in Washington state. It is positioned on the crest of the North Cascades Range, and is set at the northern end of the Ptarmigan Tr ...

to the south. The Yawning Glacier and Cache Col Glacier rest on its northern flank. Magic Mountain is at the northern end of the

Ptarmigan Traverse Ptarmigan Traverse is an alpine climbing route in the North Cascades of Washington state. The route, from Cascade Pass to Dome Peak, is generally remote, unmarked, and challenging, traversing rugged terrain and several glaciers. History The ...

Surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when th ...

on the north side the mountain drains into the

Stehekin River The Stehekin River is a river located in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is the main river flowing into Lake Chelan. Miners arrived in Stehekin River Valley in the late 19th century. They were followed by homes ...

, while precipitation drains into the Cascade River from the southwest side.

Climate

Magic Mountain is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

.Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel northeast toward the Cascade Mountains. As fronts approach the North Cascades, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or

snowfall Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

onto the Cascades ( Orographic lift). As a result, the west side of the North 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. Because of maritime influence, snow tends to be wet and heavy, resulting in high avalanche danger.

Geology

The North Cascades features some of the most rugged topography in the

with craggy peaks and ridges, deep glacial valleys, and granite spires. 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 ecoregions in this area. The history of the formation of the Cascade Mountains dates back millions of years ago to the late Eocene Epoch. With the North American Plate overriding the

Pacific Plate The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At , it is the largest tectonic plate. The plate first came into existence 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Iza ...

, episodes of volcanic igneous activity persisted. In addition, small fragments of the oceanic and continental lithosphere called terranes created the North Cascades about 50 million years ago. During the Pleistocene 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 are a result of recent glaciation.

Uplift Uplift may refer to: Science * Geologic uplift, a geological process ** Tectonic uplift, a geological process * Stellar uplift, the theoretical prospect of moving a stellar mass * Uplift mountains * Llano Uplift * Nemaha Uplift Business * Uplif ...

and faulting in combination with glaciation have been the dominant processes which have created the tall peaks and deep valleys of the North Cascades area.

References

External links

*
North Cascades National Park
National Park Service * Magic Mountain weather
Mountain Forecast
{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = Magic Mountain , North = Sahale Mountain , Northeast = Buckner Mountain , ENE =

Booker Mountain Booker Mountain, also known as Mount Booker, with an elevation of , is located in the North Cascades of Washington, about 1.5 miles SE of Mount Buckner, between Park Creek and Stehekin River. It is named in honor of Booker T. Washington. Histor ...

, East =

, ESE = Trapper Lake , Southeast = Trapper Mountain , South =

, Southwest = Mount Formidable , West = Cascade River , WNW = Forbidden Peak , Northwest = Mix-up Peak North Cascades Mountains of Washington (state) Mountains of Chelan County, Washington Mountains of Skagit County, Washington Cascade Range North Cascades National Park North Cascades of Washington (state) North American 2000 m summits

Climate

Geology

See also

References

External links