Badger Mountain is a small mountain in
Richland, Washington
Richland () is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 60,560. Along with the nearby c ...
. Badger rises above the
Tri-Cities connected to the smaller
Candy Mountain
''Candy Mountain'' is a 1987 drama film directed by Robert Frank and Rudy Wurlitzer, and starring Kevin J. O'Connor, Harris Yulin and Tom Waits. Set in New York City and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, it is categorized as a drama and road movie, dr ...
via
Goose Gap
Goose Gap is a small pass connecting Badger Mountain to Candy Mountain to the west of Richland, Washington. It lies significantly higher than most of the Tri-Cities and is crossed by Interstate 182 just after its western terminus. An average of 1 ...
, is visible throughout much of the area and is a popular
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
destination for a wide variety of climbers. There are a number of trails climbing the mountain with varying levels of difficulty. Most of Badger Mountain is protected by the
Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve
The Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve protects Badger Mountain, located on the edge of Richland in Washington, provides views of the Tri-Cities as well as the Columbia and Yakima rivers. Trails are open for hiking. No motorized vehicles are ...
, but the radio towers at the peak are private property. There are two summits on Badger Mountain, named the East Summit and the West Summit. The West Summit is the highest.
Geology
Badger Mountain is a member of the
Yakima Fold Belt
The Yakima Fold Belt of south-central Washington, also called the Yakima fold-and-thrust belt, is an area of topographical folds (or wrinkles) raised by tectonic compression. It is a structural-tectonic sub province of the western Columbia Plat ...
, a series of topographical folds (or wrinkles) raised from tectonic compression. The Yakima Fold Belt extends from
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
near
Vantage, Washington
Vantage is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 74 at the 2010 census.
History
The area around Vantage has been occupied by the Wanapum Native Americans since prehistory. A number of we ...
to the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
near
Wallula, Washington
Wallula () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 179 at the 2010 census.
History
The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached this area April 27, 1806, on their return journey from the ...
. The Yakima Fold Belt is a portion of the larger
Olympic–Wallowa Lineament, which extends from near
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021.
The city's har ...
into northeastern
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
.
Badger Mountain is also a part of the
Columbia River Basalt Group
The Columbia River Basalt Group is the youngest, smallest and one of the best-preserved continental flood basalt province on Earth, covering over mainly eastern Oregon and Washington, western Idaho, and part of northern Nevada. The basalt grou ...
. Sometime between 10 and 15 million years ago, multiple lava flows poured out from the
Yellowstone hotspot
The Yellowstone hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the United States responsible for large scale volcanism in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Wyoming, formed as the North American tectonic plate moved over it. It formed the eastern Snake Ri ...
, then located in western
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
. These lava flows covered large portions 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 ...
and Oregon on their way to the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and are the cause of the underlying basalt of the region. In some areas, the basalt was thick.
During the time of the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
,
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
s extended into northern Washington, Idaho and
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
. This blocked the
Clark Fork River creating
Glacial Lake Missoula
Lake Missoula was a prehistoric proglacial lake in western Montana that existed periodically at the end of the last ice age between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago. The lake measured about and contained about of water, half the volume of Lake Mic ...
. Periodically during the ice age, the weight of the water behind the ice dam caused it to break creating the
Missoula Floods
The Missoula floods (also known as the Spokane floods or the Bretz floods or Bretz's floods) were cataclysmic glacial lake outburst floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington and down the Columbia River Gorge at the end of the las ...
. As these floods rushed toward the Pacific Ocean they carried
glacial erratics
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
, chunks of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
not typically found in eastern Washington. The surface elevation of the flood water reached above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
at Badger Mountain, making it into an island for a short time. Glacial erratics of various sizes can be seen up to this elevation on the mountain and there is a marker along the Canyon Trail at 1250 feet above sea level.
Recreation
There are two trails leading to the peak of the mountain, with three other trails on the slopes of the mountain. Badger Mountain is a popular location for hiking and photography because of its height above the Tri-Cities and the views it gives. On a clear day from the peak one can see
Rattlesnake Mountain, and the
Blue Mountains as well as major
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, ...
such as
Mount Hood,
Mount Adams,
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 s ...
and
Mount Stuart
Mount Stuart is a mountain in the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the second highest non-volcanic peak in the state, after Bonanza Peak and seventh-highest overall. Mount Stuart is the highest peak in the Stuart Range, a ...
.
![Badger Mountain Kennewick Washington](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Badger_Mountain_Kennewick_Washington.jpg)
In 2010 more than 71,000 people visited the mountain.
Hiking
The Canyon and Skyline Trails reach the peak. The Canyon Trail is long and starts at Trailhead Park. The Canyon Trail only allows hikers. The Skyline Trail is long and starts off of Dallas Road on the northwest side of Badger. The Skyline Trail goes along the spine of Badger Mountain and is open to hiking,
mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
and horseback riding.
The Langdon, Sagebrush and Badger Flats Trails do not reach the peak. The Sagebrush Trail is a spur off of the Skyline Trail, connecting it to Trailhead Park. The Langdon Trail wraps around the south side of the mountain, offering views of Badger Canyon and the
Horse Heaven Hills
The Horse Heaven Hills are a long range of high, rolling hills in Klickitat, Yakima, and Benton counties in Washington. The hills are an anticline ridge in the Yakima Fold Belt formed by north–south compression of lava flows in the Columbi ...
. It is open to hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. The Badger Flats Trail is completely within Trailhead Park and is in length.
Climate and wildlife
Badger Mountain lies in the
rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains and as such has a semi-arid climate with mild winters and hot summers. The average rainfall at the nearest
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
is per year and temperatures above are not uncommon.
Monthly Temperature Charts, Pasco, WA
Retrieved 31 May 2015. Because of this, Badger Mountain shares much of the same wildlife as the surrounding area including sagebrush
Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west.
Following is an al ...
, jackrabbits
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...
and rattlesnakes
Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera '' Crotalus'' and '' Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small an ...
. There are no naturally occurring trees on the mountain.
Winter snows are also not uncommon.
See also
*Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve
The Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve protects Badger Mountain, located on the edge of Richland in Washington, provides views of the Tri-Cities as well as the Columbia and Yakima rivers. Trails are open for hiking. No motorized vehicles are ...
* Rattlesnake Mountain
References
External links
Friends of Badger Mountain
Trailhead Community Park
Peakbagger entry on Badger Mountain
{{Washington State hills and ridges
Mountains of Benton County, Washington
Tri-Cities, Washington
Mountains of Washington (state)