Cougar Mountain is a peak in the

Issaquah Alps The Issaquah Alps is the unofficial name for the highlands near Issaquah, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, including Cougar Mountain, Squak Mountain, Tiger Mountain, Taylor Mountain, Rattlesnake Ridge, Rattlesnake Mountain, and Grand Ridge. The ...

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

. It is part of the highlands in the Eastside suburbs of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, and at it is the lowest and westernmost of the Alps. About two-thirds of Cougar Mountain has experienced residential development, and is home to many neighborhood communities such as Lakemont. The forested heart of the hill was officially preserved by

King County King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

in June 1983 as

Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park is a regional park in King County, Washington, near the towns of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue and Issaquah, Washington, Issaquah. The park was established in June 1983 to protect the central core of Cougar ...

. Cougar Mountain is home to the

Cougar Mountain Zoo Cougar Mountain Zoo is an non-profit zoological park located in Issaquah, Washington, on the north slope of Cougar Mountain about east of Seattle. It is located near the border of the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. The zoo focuses on en ...

Geology

Cougar Mountain was formed in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

when tectonic forces folded western Washington along a northwest axis and created the Newcastle Anticline. The anticline exposed earlier (

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

)

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...

and

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

rocks that, due to erosion, now form the surface of Cougar Mountain. The northern edge of Cougar Mountain is distinct due to the

Seattle Fault The Seattle Fault is a zone of multiple shallow east–west thrust faults that cross the Puget Sound Lowland and through Seattle (in the U.S. state of Washington) in the vicinity of Interstate Highway 90. The Seattle Fault was first recognized as ...

, which runs along I-90. The Seattle Fault caused a large earthquake approximately 1100 years ago.

Ecology

Cougar Mountain is part of the Eastern Puget Uplands level IV ecoregion, as defined by the

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

. This ecoregion is a transition between the ecology of the Puget Sound and the forests of the Cascades. The ecology of Cougar Mountain is thus more similar to the

Sammamish Plateau Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is a resi ...

than the rest of the Issaquah Alps. Cougar Mountain contains species and habitats that were once common closer to Puget Sound. Extensive logging has rendered the ecosystem less diverse than its original state.

Views

The top of Cougar Mountain features views of

Mercer Island Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to it ...

Lake Washington Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west, ...

and the

Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easter ...

Transmitting facilities

Cougar Mountain is home to some of Seattle area radio station's transmitters. These include: *

KNHC KNHC (89.5 FM) is a Class C1 high school radio station based in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's oldest, still remaining, dance music station. C89.5 offers a hybrid of current-based EDM product and Rhythmic Top 40 remixes, as well as new ...

89.5 * KBCS 91.3 *

KJR-FM KJR-FM (93.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The studios and offices are on Elliott Avenue West in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood northwest of downtown. Th ...

93.3 * KJEB 95.7 *

KPLZ-FM KPLZ-FM (101.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Seattle, Washington. KPLZ is owned and operated by Lotus Communications and airs a hot adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. KPLZ ha ...

101.5 *

KLSW KLSW is a Contemporary Christian formatted Broadcasting, broadcast radio station licensed to Covington, Washington, serving the Seattle metropolitan area. KLSW is owned and operated by Educational Media Foundation. History KMCQ, who signed on t ...

104.5 *

KCMS-FM KCMS (105.3 FM, "Spirit 105-3") is an FM radio station licensed to Edmonds, Washington, serving the Seattle market and broadcasting a Contemporary Christian music format. The station broadcasts at 105.3 MHz from Seattle (with a transmitter o ...

105.3 *

KRWM KRWM (106.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Bremerton, Washington, serving the Seattle/Puget Sound region. It is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, and airs an adult contemporary radio format. The station switches to all- Christmas m ...

106.9 * KHB60 162.550

References

External links