Buckner Mountain (sometimes called Mount Buckner) is a tall peak in the North Cascades 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 ...

state and 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 Rec ...

of North Cascades National Park. At in elevation it is the highest in Skagit County and one of about ten of Washington's non-volcanic peaks above 9,000 feet high. It is ranked as the 14th highest peak in the state, and the third highest peak in North Cascades National Park.

Description

The mountain has two summits of nearly the same elevation, separated by a ridgeline of a few hundred feet. Sources differ over the exact height of the southwestern summit. The current United States Geological Survey quadrangle shows the southwest summit to have an elevation between 9080 and 9119 feet. According to Peakbagger.com the southwestern peak is the higher one, at , based on Edward Earl's pixel analysis of the height of the peak as derived from a digital photograph. The broader northeastern peak is agreed to be . Noted climber

Fred Beckey Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey (14 January 1923 – 30 October 2017), known as Fred Beckey, was an American rock climber, mountaineer and book author, who in seven decades of climbing achieved hundreds of first ascents of the tallest peaks and best ro ...

also claims in his Cascade Alpine Guide books that the Southwest summit is two feet higher but gives no source for the claim and this approximation is second-hand since Beckey has never summitted Buckner. Most mountain climbers visit the southwest peak since it is arrived at first via the standard Horseshoe Basin route. Buckner Mountain, with a

prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of , is the 51st most prominent peak in Washington state. The nearest higher peak is

Goode Mountain Goode Mountain is one of the major peaks of the North Cascades in the U.S. state of Washington. Named for topographer Richard U. Goode of the USGS, it is the highest peak located in North Cascades National Park, between the Skagit River an ...

, to the east. Buckner Mountain is located on the border between Chelan and Skagit counties. It is connected to Horseshoe Peak,

Boston Peak Boston Peak is a tall peak in the North Cascades in the U.S. state of Washington and within North Cascades National Park. At in elevation it is the 26th highest peak in Washington. Its nearest higher neighbor is Buckner Mountain, to the eas ...

, and

Sahale Mountain Sahale Mountain is a jagged, glaciated mountain, in North Cascades National Park, in northern Washington state. The summit of Sahale Mountain is referred to as Sahale Peak. It is south of its higher neighbor, Boston Peak, and the saddle betwee ...

to the west by Ripsaw Ridge, which marks the county line for several miles.

Cascade Pass Cascade Pass (formerly also known as Skagit Pass Boston Glacier Boston Glacier is located in a large cirque below several mountain peaks in North Cascades National Park in the U.S. state of Washington. Approximately long but nearly wide, it is the largest glacier in North Cascades National Park. Extending i ...

, the largest glacier of the North Cascades, covers the entire region north of Ripsaw Ridge. South of Ripsaw Ridge the terrain slopes down into the vast Horseshoe Basin, from which some the headwater tributaries of the

Stehekin River The Stehekin River is a river located in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is the main river flowing into Lake Chelan. Miners arrived in Stehekin River Valley in the late 19th century. They were followed by home ...

flow. Long high ridges extend from Buckner Mountain east to Park Creek Pass, and south to Booker Mountain and Park Creek Ridge. Other glaciers near Buckner Mountain include Thunder Glacier, to the north, and

Buckner Glacier Buckner Glacier is located on the south slope of Buckner Mountain, North Cascades National Park in the U.S. state of Washington. The glacier is approximately in length and is split in two mid-distance along its course. The upper section descends ...

, to the south.USGS topographic maps accessed from USGS GNIS website Buckner Mountain marks the boundary between the

Skagit River The Skagit River ( ) is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000 ...

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

, to the west, and 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, ...

watershed, to the east, via the Columbia's tributaries: Chelan River, Chelan Lake and

. Buckner Mountain is named for Henry Freeland Buckner, who in the early 20th century managed a mining company which had claims in Horseshoe Basin, southwest of the peak.

Climate

Buckner Mountain is located in the

marine west coast An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

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 originate in the Pacific Ocean, and 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 the North Cascades, ...

. 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 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 ...

). As a result, the west side of the North Cascades experiences high precipitation, 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. Because of maritime influence, snow tends to be wet and heavy, resulting in

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...

danger.

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 and ridges, deep

glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

s, and granite spires. Geological events occurring many years ago created the diverse topography and drastic elevation changes over the Cascade Range leading to the various climate differences. These climate differences lead to vegetation variety defining the ecoregions in this area. The history of the formation of the Cascade Mountains dates back millions of years ago to the late Eocene Epoch. With the North American Plate overriding the

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 Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

and

continental lithosphere A lithosphere () is the rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust and the portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time scales of up to thousands of years o ...

called terranes created the North Cascades about 50 million years ago. North face of Buckner from the Boston Glacier

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 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.

Recreation

Buckner Mountain is one of the more accessible high peaks of Washington, being located just east of Cascade Pass and a well-maintained trail. Boston Glacier, on the mountains northern face, has become one of the best known ice climbs in the North Cascades.

References

External links

North Cascades National Park
National Park Service * Buckner Mountain weather
Mountain Forecast
* {{Authority control Mountains of Washington (state) North Cascades of Washington (state) Mountains of Chelan County, Washington Mountains of Skagit County, Washington North Cascades National Park Cascade Range North Cascades