Tolmie Peak is a peak in the
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a ...
area of the
Cascade Range, in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
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 ...
. It is located northwest of
Mowich Lake
Mowich Lake is a lake located in the northwestern corner of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington (state), Washington state at an elevation of . The name "Mowich" derives from the Chinook jargon word for deer.
Access to the lake is provided by ...
, in the northwest part 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, preservin ...
.
Streams that drain the slopes of Tolmie Peak, including Tolmie Creek and Ranger Creek, join the
Carbon River
The Carbon River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. It flows about 30 miles (48 km) from its source, the Carbon Glacier on Mount Rainier, to join the Puyallup River at Orting.
Charles Wilkes called the river the "Upthascap River ...
, which flows into the
Puyallup River
The Puyallup River ( ) is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. About long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier. It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound. The river and its tribu ...
and
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...
. Just south of Tolmie Peak, in a basin carved by glaciers, lies Eunice Lake.
To the northwest is Howard Peak.
Tolmie Peak is named for
William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie ( "Dr. Tolmie") (February 3, 1812 – December 8, 1886) was a surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician.
He was born in Inverness, Scotland, in 1812, and by 1833 moved to the Pacific Northwest in the service of th ...
.
In August 1833, employed by
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...
and stationed at the newly built
Fort Nisqually
Fort Nisqually was an important fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area, part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. It was located in what is now DuPont, Washington. Today it is a living his ...
, Tolmie made the first recorded exploration of the Mount Rainier area. Unable to summit Rainier itself, Tolmie and two Indian guides, Lachalet and Nuckalkat, summited one of the snowy peaks near the
Mowich River headwaters. Although Tolmie Peak is named for this event, it is not known exactly which peak was climbed.
See also
*
Eunice Lake
References
External links
*
Mount Rainier National Park
Mountains of Washington (state)
Mountains of Pierce County, Washington
{{PierceCountyWA-geo-stub