Mount Si (pronounced ; , ) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, east of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

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 ...

. It lies on the western margin 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 ...

just above the coastal plains around

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

, and towers over the nearby town of North Bend. Mount Si and neighboring mountain Little Si were named after local homesteader Josiah "Uncle Si" Merritt. The mountain became nationally familiar in the early 1990s with the television series ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

'', which was filmed in North Bend. Only about a 45-minute drive from Seattle, the mountain is a favorite outdoor destination for residents of

. Between 80,000 and 100,000 hikers visit the mountain annually. The land is owned by the state of

and has been designated a Natural Resources Conservation Area. The Mount Si trail vertically climbs to the summit ridge. Its summit is reached by an

exposed Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website * '' Exeposé'', a student-run newspaper of the University of Exeter Film and TV ...

scramble, , up the north side of the summit block, which is known as the "Haystack". The peak can be accessed by two trails. The Old Mount Si trail is accessed by the Little Si parking lot and the Boulder Garden Loop. It is shorter, steeper in elevation gain, and less crowded than the main trail. The Mount Si trail is accessed by the Mount Si parking lot.

Oceanic plate volcano

Mount Si is a remnant of an oceanic plate volcano and the rocks are highly metamorphosed. The rock deposits are a melange including metagabbro, and are Jurassic-Cretaceous in age.

In Snoqualmie culture

Mount Si features prominently in a

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

story from the

Snoqualmie people The Snoqualmie people () are a List of Lushootseed-speaking peoples, Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish, Southern Coast Salish people indigenous to the Snoqualmie Valley, located in east King County, Washington, King and Snohomish County, Washin ...

. According to Snoqualmie tradition, Mount Si is the fallen body of , or

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

, who is the paramount god in Snoqualmie traditional religion. Moon had ordered that a rope of cedar bark be stretched between the Earth and the sky. (Coyote) and (Blue Jay) went up the rope, with Blue Jay pecking a hole in the sky for Coyote to crawl through, where he found himself at the bottom of a lake. He transformed into a beaver, but got trapped in a beaver trap set by Moon. Coyote played dead to trick Moon and was brought back to his house, where he was skinned by Moon and his carcass thrown away in the corner, where he waited paitently. When Moon had fallen asleep, Coyote re-applied his skin and explored the house of Moon, finding great forests, fire, the sun, and a contraption that made daylight among his possessions. Coyote then stole them, transforming back to his regular form and descending back down the rope to distribute what he had stolen across the earth. Awakening to find his possessions stolen, Moon chased Coyote down the cedar rope in anger, but it broke and he fell to his death, forming the mountain. Moon's face is visible on the rocks near the summit.

References

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External links

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View of Mount Si from I-90 on Google Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Si, Mount Mountains of King County, Washington Mountains of Washington (state) Washington Natural Areas Program Protected areas of King County, Washington Volcanoes of Washington (state) Cretaceous volcanoes Jurassic volcanoes