The Wenatchee Mountains are a range of mountains in central

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,

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. A major subrange of the Cascade Range, extending east from the Cascade crest, the Wenatchee Mountains separate the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

s of the

Yakima River The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam ...

from the

Wenatchee River The Wenatchee River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, originating at Lake Wenatchee and flowing southeast for , emptying into the Columbia River immediately north of Wenatchee, Washington. On its way it passes the towns of Plain, Leave ...

. The crest of the range forms part of the boundary between Chelan and Kittitas Counties.

Extent

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 ...

describes the Wenatchee Mountains as the area between the Wenatchee and Yakima rivers and

Stevens Pass Stevens Pass (elevation ) is a mountain pass through the Cascade Mountains located at the border of King County and Chelan County in Washington, United States. U.S. Route 2 travels over the pass, reaching a maximum elevation of . The Pacific ...

. Among the range's significant features he describes are

Mount Stuart Mount Stuart is a mountain in the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the second highest non-volcanic peak in the state, after Bonanza Peak and seventh-highest overall. Mount Stuart is the highest peak in the Stuart Range, a ...

, the second highest non-volcanic peak in Washington and one of the largest single granitic mountains in the United States, the Cashmere Crags, the Lost World Plateau, Edward Plateau, and Dragontail Plateau, the Enchantment Lakes Basin ("one of the most marvelous examples of an ice-sculpted wilderness in the Cascade Range″), Icicle Creek and its narrow, U-shaped valley over deep, one of the deepest in the Cascades, and the Wenatchee River's unusual winding Tumwater Canyon gorge. According to Peakbagger.com the Wenatchee Mountains are defined as bounded by

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...

from Stevens Pass to

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

on the Columbia River, then down the Columbia River to Interstate 90, then west along the highway to the vicinity of Cle Elum and Roslyn, then north along

Cle Elum Lake Cle Elum Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of the Cle Elum River, in Washington state USA. At the site of the future city of Cle Elum, Washington, a Northern Pacific Railway station was named Clealum after the Kittitas name Tle-el-Lu ...

and the

Cle Elum River The Cle Elum River is a tributary of the Yakima River, approximately 28 miles (45 km) long in the U.S. state of Washington. A Northern Pacific Railway station at the future site of the city of Cle Elum, Washington was named Clealum after the ...

and north to Stevens Pass. Subranges of the Wenatchee Mountains and their highest peaks as defined by Peakbagger.com are the

Chiwaukum Mountains The Chiwaukum Mountains are a north–south mountain range in central Washington, United States. They stretch from Snowgrass Mountain at , to . The mountains are made of schist, part of the Nason terrane. The original rock in the Nason terran ...

( Big Chiwaukum Mountain, ), North Wenatchee Mountains (Cashmere Mountain, ),

Stuart Range The Stuart Range is a mountain range in central Washington, United States. The range lies within the eastern extent of the Cascade Range immediately southwest of Leavenworth and runs east–west. The western peaks make up a single sharp ridge. ...

(Mount Stuart, ), the Teanaway Area ( Ingalls Peak, ), and the Mission-Naneum Ridges (Mission Peak, ). Peakbagger.com also defines and names the mountain regions bordering the Wenatchee Mountains. These are the Alpine Lakes Area to the west, South Cascade Crest to the south, Glacier Peak-North Stevens Pass area to the northwest, and the Entiat Mountains to the northeast. The

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

GNIS The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

defines the range with a simple list seven points in a line, running from approximately Paddy-Go-Easy Pass and Granite Mountain to approximately Blewett Pass and Naneum Creek.

Major Peaks

Partial list of peaks: *

- - * Dragontail Peak - - * Colchuck Peak - - * Cannon Mountain - - *

Sherpa Peak Sherpa Peak is an granite summit located in the Stuart Range, in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in Chelan County of Washington state. According to the USGS, this peak is "named for a local climbing club" that was "active in the area since the 19 ...

- - * Enchantment Peak - - * Witches Tower - - * Cashmere Mountain - - * Argonaut Peak - - * Little Annapurna - - * McClellan Peak - - * Eightmile Mountain - - * The Cradle - - * Hawkins Mountain - - * Granite Mountain - - * Earl Peak - - *

Mac Peak Mac Peak is a mountain summit located south of Stevens Pass on the common border of King County, Washington, King County and Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County in Washington (U.S. state), Washington state. It's part of the Wenatchee Moun ...

- - * Three Brothers - - * Thunder Mountain Lakes Peak - * Trico Mountain - - * Thunder Mountain - - * Slippery Slab Tower - -

Natural history

The Wenatchee Mountains are in the rain shadow of the main Cascade Range and hence are drier and have fewer trees. This comparative lack of trees offers good wildflower displays and wide views. Serpentine soils are found within the Wenatchee Mountains, modifying the plant communities in those areas. The Wenatchee Mountains are home to a number of rare,

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

, or disjunct plant species, including '' Androsace nivalis'' var. ''dentata'', '' Claytonia megarhiza'' var. ''nivalis'', '' Delphinium viridescens'', '' Lewisiopsis tweedyi'', '' Trifolium thompsonii'', and '' Valeriana columbiana''. The Wenatchee Mountains checkermallow (''Sidalcea oregano'' var. ''calva'') occurs only along Peshastin Creek, south of

Leavenworth, Washington Leavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee− East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,263 at the 2020 census. The entire town center is modeled on a German Bavarian ...

. It is the rarest plant in

, and is now on the endangered species list.

References

External links

{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Washington (state) Cascade Range Landforms of Chelan County, Washington Landforms of Kittitas County, Washington

Extent

Major Peaks

Natural history

See also

References

External links