Black Peak is a tall peak in the
Cascade Range
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, ...
in the
U.S. state of
Washington. It lies in the
Stephen Mather Wilderness
The Stephen Mather Wilderness is a wilderness area honoring Stephen Mather, the first director of the National Park Service. It is located within North Cascades National Park, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, and Ross Lake National Recreat ...
and
North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Par ...
. At in elevation it is the 20th-highest peak in Washington.
[ Black Peaks's prominence is , making it the 35th-most prominent peak in Washington. The nearest higher peak is Goode Mountain, to the west-southwest.][
Black Peak is a non-volcanic mountain and is popular among hikers and campers worldwide.]
History
The first ascent of this peak was made in 1926 by US Forest Service surveyor, Lage Wernsterdt.[Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008.] He also gave it the name Black Peak. In 1983, there was a proposal to rename the peak "Mount Wernstedt" in his honor, but was later withdrawn.
Geology
The North Cascades features some of the most rugged topography in the Cascade Range
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, ...
with craggy peaks, granite spires, ridges, and deep glacial valleys. Geological events occurring many years ago created the diverse topography and drastic elevation changes over the Cascade Range leading to various climate differences.
The history of the formation of the Cascade Mountains dates back millions of years ago to the late Eocene Epoch.Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At , it is the largest tectonic plate.
The plate first came into existence 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Iza ...
, episodes of volcanic igneous activity persisted.[ In addition, small fragments of the oceanic and continental lithosphere called terranes created the North Cascades about 50 million years ago.][
During the Pleistocene period dating back over two million years ago, glaciation advancing and retreating repeatedly scoured the landscape leaving deposits of rock debris.][ The "U"-shaped cross section of the river valleys are a result of recent glaciation. ]Uplift
Uplift may refer to: Science
* Geologic uplift, a geological process
** Tectonic uplift, a geological process
* Stellar uplift, the theoretical prospect of moving a stellar mass
* Uplift mountains
* Llano Uplift
* Nemaha Uplift
Business
* Uplif ...
and faulting in combination with glaciation have been the dominant processes which have created the tall peaks and deep valleys of the North Cascades area.
Climate
Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel northeast toward the Cascade Mountains. As fronts approach the North Cascades, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the Cascades ( Orographic lift). As a result, the west side of the North Cascades experiences higher precipitation than the east side, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. 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.[Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008.]
See also
*List of mountains of the United States
This list includes significant mountain peaks and high points located in the United States arranged alphabetically by state, district, or territory. The highest peak or point in each state, district or territory is noted in bold.
Significant mo ...
* List of mountains by elevation
References
External links
*
{{Washington highest
Mountains of Washington (state)
Mountains of Skagit County, Washington
Mountains of Chelan County, Washington