The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the US state of Washington and are officially named in Canada as the Cascade Mountains . They are predominantly non-volcanic, but include the stratovolcanoes Mount Baker, Glacier Peak and Coquihalla Mountain, which are part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. The portion in Canada is known as the Canadian Cascades , a designation that also includes the mountains above the east bank of the Fraser Canyon as far north as the town of Lytton, at the confluence of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers.
The American portion of the North Cascades and the adjoining Skagit Range in British Columbia are most notable for their dramatic scenery and challenging mountaineering, both resulting from their steep, rugged topography. While all of the peaks but the two volcanos are under 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in elevation, the low valleys provide great local relief, often over 6,000 feet (1,800 m). The summits of the rest of the Canadian Cascades are not glaciated in the same way and feature rock "horns" rising from plateau-like uplands, with the Manning Park and Cathedral Park areas known for their extensive alpine meadows, as is also the case with the eastern flank of the US portion of the range.
Geography
Main article: Geography of the North CascadesThe large amount of precipitation, much of it in the form of snow, and the resulting glaciation, combine with the regional uplift to create a dramatic landscape in the western part of the range. Deep, U-shaped valleys carved by glaciers in Pleistocene time separate sharp ridges and peaks carved into steep shapes by more recent snow and ice. The eastern and northernmost parts of the range are much more plateau-like in character, though in the case of the northernmost areas graven by deep valleys along the flank of the Fraser Canyon, notably that of the Anderson River.
Extent
The Fraser River and the adjoining lowland on its south bank form the northern and northwestern boundary of the range. On the east, the Okanogan River and the Columbia River bound the range in the United States, while the northeastern boundary of the range departs the Thompson via the Nicoamen River and runs via Lawless Creek, the Tulameen River and Copper Creek to the Similkameen River. On the west, the foothills of the range are separated by a narrow coastal plain from Puget Sound except along Chuckanut Drive between Bellingham and Mount Vernon, where they abut the Sound directly.
The southern boundary of the North Cascades is less definite. For the purposes of this article, it will be taken as U.S. Highway 2, running over Stevens Pass, or equivalently, the Skykomish River, Nason Creek, and the lower Wenatchee River. This roughly follows Beckey's division. (Beckey 1987:17) Sometimes the southern boundary is defined by Snoqualmie Pass and the approximate route of Interstate 90.
Geologically, the rocks of the North Cascades extend south beyond Stevens Pass and west into the San Juan Islands. The significance of the geologic transitions to the Okanagan Highland to the east and the Interior Plateau and Coast Mountains to the north are less agreed upon.
Climate
The climate in the North Cascades varies considerably by location and elevation. The western slope of the range is wet and cool, with 60 to 250 inches (1.5 to 6.3 m) of precipitation per year. This produces a temperate rain forest climate in the low valleys, which then grades into montane and alpine climates on mountain slopes and peaks. Summers are comparatively dry, with far less precipitation than in winter. The eastern slope lies in the rain shadow of the range, since prevailing winds and most moisture come from the west, and hence is significantly drier than the western side of the main divide, becoming semi-arid in the eastern lowlands. (Mathews 1988:557-562, Beckey 1996:12) As with most mountain areas, precipitation increases dramatically with increasing elevation. As a result, there is a great deal of winter snow and glaciation in the high North Cascades.
Subranges
- North Cascades
- Picket Range
- Chuckanut Mountains
- Entiat Mountains
- Chelan Mountains
- Canadian Cascades
- Skagit Range
- Hozameen Range
- Bedded Range
- Okanagan Range
- Coquihalla Range (name is unofficial)
- Llamoid Group (name is unofficial)
- Anderson River Group (name is unofficial)
Geology
Main article: Geology of the Pacific NorthwestThe bulk of the North Cascades consists of "deformed and metamorphosed, structurally complex pre-Tertiary rocks" (Beckey 1987:17). These originated in diverse locations around the globe: the area is built of several ("perhaps ten or more") different terranes of different ages and origins. (Beckey 1996: 10) These terranes are separated by a series of ancient faults, the most significant being the Straight Creek Fault, which runs north-south from north of Yale, British Columbia, through Hope, Marblemount, Washington, and down to Kachess Lake near Snoqualmie Pass. There is evidence of significant strike-slip movement on this fault in the past, with similar rocks on either side of the fault separated by dozens of miles. This is thought to be related to northward tectonic movement of the West Coast relative to the rest of North America.
Since about 35 million years ago, oceanic crust from the Pacific Ocean has been subducting under the continental margin, which has formed the current volcanoes as well as a number of igneous intrusions composed of diorite and gabbro. (Mathews 1988:519-520) The current uplift of the Cascade Range began around 8 million years ago. (Mathews 1988:522)
Rocks similar to those in the North Cascades continue north to the vicinity of Mount Meager in the Coast Mountains, where they abut the Stikinia Terrane of the Omineca-Intermontane Province that dominates the Interior Plateau of British Columbia. This geologic similarity between the North Cascades and Coast Mountains results in a fairly arbitrary boundary between the two.
In British Columbia, the western geologic boundary of the North Cascades is defined as the Fraser River as it follows the Straight Creek Fault, while in the United States the western boundary is defined by the Puget Lowlands in the west, although there are significant westward extensions of rocks similar in origin to those in the North Cascades found in the San Juan Islands.
The eastern geologic boundary of the North Cascades may be marked by the Chewack-Pasayten Fault. This fault separates the easternmost portion of the North Cascades, the Methow Terrane, from the Quesnellia Terrane, one of the Omineca and Intermontane Belts. The fault also separates the Methow River valley, part of the Methow Terrane, from the Okanagan Range, part of the Quesnellia Terrane. The Columbia River Basalt Group bounds the North Cascades to the southeast.
The southern limit of what is geologically considered the "North Cascades" may variously be defined as being the southern limit of eposure of igneous and metamorphic terranes which is generally north of Snoqualmie Pass, Snoqualmie Pass itself, or Naches Pass at the White River Fault Zone.
Glaciers
While alpine glaciers are a defining feature of the Cascade Range as a whole, this is especially true of the North Cascades. The stratovolcanoes (Mount Baker and Glacier Peak) are the most obviously glaciated peaks and have the largest glaciers, but many of the smaller, nonvolcanic peaks are glaciated as well. For example, the portion of the Cascades north of Snoqualmie Pass (roughly the North Cascades as defined in this article) These glaciers all retreated from 1900-1950. From 1950-1975 many but not all North Cascades advanced. Since 1975 retreat has become more rapid with all 107 glaciers monitored retreating by 1992. There are approximately 700 glaciers in the range, though some have already disappeared (Pelto, North Cascade Glacier Climate Proejct). Since a brief advancing period in the 1950s, most of these glaciers have been retreating. This is a serious concern to water managers in the region, as the glaciers (and the winter snowpack) form a large reservoir of water. As snow and ice melts in the summer, the resulting meltwater compensates for the seasonal decrease in precipitation. As glaciers retreat they will provide less summer runoff.
The Cascades north of Snoqualmie Pass have 756 glaciers covering 103 square miles (270 km 2 ) of terrain. For comparison, the entire contiguous United States has about 1,100 glaciers in total, covering 205 square miles (530 km 2 ).
Ecology
Main article: Ecology of the North CascadesThe ecology of the North Cascades can be interpreted by following a west-to-east
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