McClellan Peak is an 8,364 ft summit located in
Chelan County of
Washington state. Its name honors Army explorer
George B. McClellan who visited the area in 1853.
[
] McClellan Peak forms part of the south rim of
The Enchantments lake basin within the
Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and it belongs to the
Stuart Range which is subset 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, ...
. McClellan Peak is situated 1.29 miles east of
Little Annapurna
Little Annapurna
is an 8,440+ ft granite summit located in Chelan County of Washington state. The origin of the name came from the Sherpa Climbing Club of Ellensburg, and is inspired by the obvious resemblance to its Himalayan namesake when ...
which is its nearest higher neighbor.
Precipitation runoff drains into tributaries of the
Wenatchee River.
Climate
Most
weather fronts originate in the
Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the
Cascade Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of
rain or
snowfall
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
onto the Cascades (
Orographic lift). As a result, the Cascades experience 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.
[Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008.] Because of
maritime influence, snow tends to be wet and heavy, resulting in high
avalanche danger.
[Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008.]
Geology
The Alpine Lakes Wilderness 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 valleys, and
granite walls spotted with over 700 mountain lakes.
Geological events occurring many years ago created the diverse topography and drastic elevation changes over the Cascade Range leading to the various climate differences.
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 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 last glacial retreat in the Alpine Lakes area began about 14,000 years ago and was north of the Canada–US border by 10,000 years ago.][ The "U"-shaped cross section of the river valleys are a result of that 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 Alpine Lakes Wilderness area.
See also
*List of peaks of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness
The Alpine Lakes Wilderness contains a number of mountain peaks and ranges:
Snoqualmie peaks
* Kaleetan Peak —
* Chair Peak (Washington), Chair Peak —
* Denny Mountain —
* Guye Peak —
* Hibox Mountain —
* Sno ...
*Geography of Washington (state)
Washington is the northwesternmost state of the contiguous United States. It borders Idaho to the east, bounded mostly by the meridian running north from the confluence of the Snake River and Clearwater River (about 117°02'23" west), except f ...
Gallery
File:Leprechaun, Rune, Talisman Lakes.jpg, McClellan from Enchantment Peak
Enchantment Peak is an granite summit located in Chelan County of Washington state. Enchantment Peak is part of The Enchantments within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Enchantment Peak belongs to the Stuart Range which is subset of the Cascade R ...
File:DERBY CANYON AND MOUNTAINS-OKANOGAN WENATCHEE (24858166753).jpg, McClellan Peak (left) and The Temple (right)
File:McClellan Peak seen from Upper Snow Lake.jpg, McClellan Peak seen from Upper Snow Lake
References
{{reflist
External links
* Weather forecast
McClellan Peak
Alpine Lakes Wilderness (Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest)
U.S. Forest Service
Mountains of Washington (state)
Mountains of Chelan County, Washington
Cascade Range
North American 2000 m summits