|
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park has four entrances: the Nisqually, off SR 706 in the southwest; the Carbon River, on Carbon River Road in the northwest; the White River, on White River Road off SR 410 in the northeast; and the Stevens Canyon Road entrance in the southeast.
Mount Rainier, a towering, ice-clad volcano rising 14,411 feet, is a striking landmark in the Pacific Northwest. The cap of glacial ice that conceals all but a few crags and ridges makes it doubly impressive. Although Mount Rainier currently is dormant, it is not extinct. It belongs to the class of exploding volcanoes, much like recently awakened Mount St. Helens, and quite conceivably could one day erupt in a similar manner.
Although mere remnants of their former size, Rainier's 35 square miles of glaciers constitute the largest single-peak glacial system in the contiguous United States: 26 glaciers extend down the mountainside. Six of them--Nisqually, Ingraham, Emmons, Winthrop, Kautz and Tahoma--originate in the summit ice cap. Many other major glaciers are born of snows in valley heads, or cirques, between 10,000 and 12,000 feet; the most notable of these are Cowlitz, Carbon, Russell, North and South Mowich and Puyallup glaciers.
Forests cover the mountainsides up to 5,000 feet, where alpine meadows of wildflowers and grass contrast with masses of ice at higher elevations. The timberline is at about 6,500 feet. Deer, bears and mountain goats inhabit the forests, meadows and ridges. Park animals, either large and small, should not be fed; all food should be kept locked up or out of the reach of wildlife.
Flowers in the high meadows bloom from late June to mid-August. Huckleberries, vine maple and mountain ash grow throughout the park; fall colors are at their best from late September to early October.
|
|
