Cowlitz Chimneys are a group of four

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

towers located in

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preservi ...

in Pierce County 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. As part of 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, ...

, the Cowlitz Chimneys are situated southwest of

Tamanos Mountain Tamanos Mountain is a summit located in Mount Rainier National Park in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state. It is part of the Cascade Range. Tamanos Mountain is situated west of Governors Ridge ...

and east of

Banshee Peak Banshee Peak is a 7,400+ ft summit located in Mount Rainier National Park in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County of Washington (state), Washington state, US. As part of the Cascade Range, Banshee Peak is situated west of the Cowlitz Chimneys ...

, all of which are visible from the Sunrise Historic District. The

Sarvant Glacier The Sarvant Glacier is a glacier located on the northern slopes of the Cowlitz Chimneys in the state of Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A meto ...

is set on the north aspect of these remnants of a

volcanic plug A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if rising volatile-charged mag ...

. ''Cowlitz'' is the name of several geographical features in Mount Rainier National Park, as well as the state of Washington. The name appeared as early as the

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

journals of 1805 when it was written as "Cowliskee" and has the Chinook Jargon meaning of "''capturing the medicine spirit''".Mount Rainier National Park Place Names. Gary Fuller Reese (author), 2009. * Main (South) Cowlitz Chimney - 7,605 ft * Central Cowlitz Chimney - 7,421 ft * North Cowlitz Chimney - 7,015 ft * Third Cowlitz Chimney - 6,640+ ft

Climate

The Cowlitz Chimneys are 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 North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

.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 in ...

s originate in 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 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, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range (

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 ...

), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the Cascades. As a result, the west side of the 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 high

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 earth ...

danger.

Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from Cowlitz Chimneys drains into the

Cowlitz River The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens. The Cowlitz has a ...

References

External links

* {{commons-inline * National Park Service web site
Mount Rainier National Park
* Cowlitz Chimneys weather
Mountain Forecast
Cascade Range Mountains of Pierce County, Washington Mountains of Washington (state) Mount Rainier National Park North American 2000 m summits

Climate

See also

References

External links