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 was established on March 2, 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preservi ...
. It is also on the shared border of
Pierce County and
Yakima County
Yakima County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and largest city is Yakima. The county was formed out of Ferguson County in January 1865 and is named for the Yakama t ...
in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
state. Three Way Peak is situated 0.42 mi (0.68 km) north of
Cupalo Rock
Cupalo Rock is a 6,593-foot (2,010 m) summit located in Yakima County in Washington state. Cupalo Rock is situated two miles north-northeast of Chinook Pass, one mile east-northeast of Chinook Peak, and barely east of the crest of the Cascade Rang ...
on the crest of the
Cascade Range. Its nearest higher peak is
Crystal Mountain, to the northwest.
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 and Yakima County in Washington state. Chinook Peak is situated north of Chinook Pass on the crest of the C ...
is 0.8 mile to the southwest. 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 Three Way Peak drains into tributaries of the
White River and
Naches River
The Naches River is a tributary of the Yakima River in central Washington in the United States. Beginning as the Little Naches River, it is about 75 miles (121 km) long. After the confluence of the Little Naches and Bumping River the name ...
.
Climate
Three Way Peak is located in the
marine west coast
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
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 ...
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 the North Cascades, ...
. 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 slope, such as a hill or mountain.
Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and ear ...
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.
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 ...
Gallery
File:Three Way Peak from Sourdough Gap.jpg, Three Way Peak from Sourdough Gap
File:Three Way Peak from Crystal Peak.jpg, Three Way Peak from Crystal Peak
File:Crystal Lake - Flickr - brewbooks.jpg, Three Way Peak to left, Peak 6708 (right), Crystal Lake (center)
File:Three Way Peak in WA.jpg, West aspect
References
{{Reflist
External links
* National Park Service
Mount Rainier National Park
Cascade Range
Mountains of Pierce County, Washington
Mountains of Washington (state)
Mountains of Yakima County, Washington
North American 2000 m summits