Yakima Peak is a 6,226-ft (1,898 m) summit located on the eastern border of

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...

. It is also on the shared border of Pierce County and

Yakima County Yakima County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and most populous city is Yakima, Washington, Ya ...

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. Yakima Peak is situated northwest of Tipsoo Lake and west of

Chinook Pass Chinook Pass (elevation 5430 ft./1656 m.) is a pass through the Cascade Range in the state of Washington. The pass is located on the crest of the Cascade Range, along a ridge between Yakima Peak to the northwest of the pass, and Naches Pe ...

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 ...

. Yakima Peak is a major triple divide point with

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 draining into tributaries of the White River,

Cowlitz River The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens. The Cowlitz has a ...

, and

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 ...

. Its nearest higher neighbor is

Deadwood Peak Deadwood Peak is a mountain summit located on the eastern border of Mount Rainier National Park. It is also situated on the shared border of Pierce County and Yakima County in Washington state. Deadwood Peak is set on the crest of the Cascade ...

, to the north. The name ''Yakima Peak'' honors the

Yakima Tribe The Yakama are a Native American tribe with nearly 10,851 members, based primarily in eastern Washington state. Yakama people today are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Their ...

of eastern Washington state. From Chinook Pass, a short

scramble Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Scramble'' (film), a 1970 British children's sports drama * ''Scrambled'' (film), a 2023 American comedy-drama * ''Scrambled!'', a British children' ...

up a gully on the north side leads to a flat summit with unobstructed views of

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

and

Naches Peak Naches Peak is a 6,452-foot (1,967 m) mountain summit located on the shared border of Mount Rainier National Park and William O. Douglas Wilderness. It is also on the shared border of Pierce County and Yakima County in Washington state. Naches ...

Climate

Yakima 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.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 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 many of those in the ...

. 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 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. 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.

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Yakima Peak
* National Park Service web site

{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = Yakima Peak , North =

, Northeast =

Three Way Peak Three Way 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. Three Way Peak is situated 0.42 mi (0.68 km) north of C ...

, ENE =

Fifes Peaks Fifes Peaks is a compact group of summits and spires from an eroded volcanic cone located in Yakima County, Washington, Yakima County in Washington (U.S. state), Washington state. Fifes Peaks is situated in the Cascade Range on the east side of ...

, East =

Tahtlum Peak Tahtlum Peak is a mountain summit in Yakima County of Washington state. Description Tahtlum Peak is located east-southeast of Chinook Pass and north of Dewey Lake in the William O. Douglas Wilderness. It is part of the Cascade Range and the n ...

, ESE =

, Southeast = Dewey Peak , South = Shriner Peak , Southwest =

Buell Peak Buell Peak is a small 5,756 ft (1,754 m) summit located in Mount Rainier National Park in Pierce County of Washington state. It is part of the Cascade Range and is situated 1.5 miles southwest of Cayuse Pass and 0.53 mile east-south ...

, WSW =

Governors Ridge Governors Ridge is located in Mount Rainier National Park in Pierce County of Washington state. It is part of the Cascade Range and is situated west of Cayuse Pass and 1.09 mile east of Tamanos Mountain, which is the nearest higher peak. Pr ...

, West =

Tamanos Mountain Tamanos Mountain is a summit located in Mount Rainier National Park in Pierce County of Washington state. It is part of the Cascade Range. Tamanos Mountain is situated west of Governors Ridge and northeast of the Cowlitz Chimneys, all of whi ...

, WNW = Burroughs Mountain , Northwest =

Dege Peak Dege Peak is a 7,009-foot (2,136 m) summit located in Pierce County of Washington state. It is part of the Sourdough Mountains in Mount Rainier National Park. It was named in 1932 for James Henry Dege (born 1868), a prominent Tacoma busine ...

Cascade Range Mountains of Pierce County, Washington Mountains of Washington (state) Mountains of Yakima County, Washington One-thousanders of the United States Mount Rainier National Park

Climate

See also

References

External links