Badger Mountain is a small mountain in

Richland, Washington Richland () is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Yakima River, Yakima and the Columbia River, Columbia Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was ...

. Badger rises above the Tri-Cities connected to the smaller

Candy Mountain ''Candy Mountain'' is a 1987 drama film directed by Robert Frank and Rudy Wurlitzer, and starring Kevin J. O'Connor, Harris Yulin and Tom Waits. Set in New York City and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, it is categorized as a drama and road movie, dr ...

via

Goose Gap Goose Gap is a small pass connecting Badger Mountain to Candy Mountain to the west of Richland, Washington Richland () is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the ...

, is visible throughout much of the area and is a popular

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

destination for a wide variety of climbers. There are a number of trails climbing the mountain with varying levels of difficulty. There are two summits on Badger Mountain, named the East Summit and the West Summit. The West Summit is the highest. Most of Badger Mountain is protected by the Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve, but the radio towers at the peak are private property. A non-profit group, Friends of Badger Mountain, worked to procure this shrub-steppe area that has most native vegetation intact and then built a trail to the summit. The trail rises above the trail head in Richland.

Geology

Badger Mountain is a member of the

Yakima Fold Belt The Yakima Fold Belt of south-central Washington, also called the Yakima fold-and-thrust belt, is an area of topographical folds (or wrinkles) raised by tectonic compression. It is a structural-tectonic sub province of the western Columbia Plat ...

, a series of topographical folds (or wrinkles) raised from tectonic compression. The Yakima Fold Belt extends from

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

near

Vantage, Washington Vantage is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 74 at the 2010 census. History The area around Vantage has been occupied by the Wanapum Native Americans since prehistory. A number o ...

to the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

near

Wallula, Washington Wallula () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 179 at the 2010 census. History The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached this area April 27, 1806, on their return journey from th ...

. The Yakima Fold Belt is a portion of the larger Olympic–Wallowa Lineament, which extends from near

Port Angeles, Washington Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, Clallam County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 19,960 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most populous city in t ...

into northeastern

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Badger Mountain is also a part of the

Columbia River Basalt Group The Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) is the youngest, smallest and one of the best-preserved continental flood basalt provinces on Earth, covering over mainly eastern Oregon and Washington, western Idaho, and part of northern Nevada. The b ...

. Sometime between 10 and 15 million years ago, multiple lava flows poured out from the

Yellowstone hotspot The Yellowstone hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the United States responsible for large scale volcanism in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Wyoming, formed as the North American tectonic plate moved over it. It formed the eastern Snake Riv ...

, then located in western

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. These lava flows covered large portions of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and Oregon on their way to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

and are the cause of the underlying basalt of the region. In some areas, the basalt was thick. During the time of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s extended into northern Washington, Idaho and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. This blocked the

Clark Fork River The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately long. It is named after William Clark of the 1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. The largest river by volume in Montana, it ...

creating

Glacial Lake Missoula Lake Missoula was a prehistoric proglacial lake in western Montana that existed periodically at the end of the last ice age between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago. The lake measured about and contained about of water, half the volume of Lake Mi ...

. Periodically during the ice age, the weight of the water behind the ice dam caused it to break creating the Missoula Floods. As these floods rushed toward the Pacific Ocean they carried

glacial erratics A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

, chunks of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

not typically found in eastern Washington. The surface elevation of the flood water reached above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

at Badger Mountain, making it into an island for a short time. Glacial erratics of various sizes can be seen up to this elevation on the mountain and there is a marker along the Canyon Trail at 1250 feet above sea level.

Recreation

There are two trails leading to the peak of the mountain, with three other trails on the slopes of the mountain. Badger Mountain is a popular location for hiking and photography because of its height above the Tri-Cities and the views it gives. On a clear day from the peak one can see Rattlesnake Mountain, and the Blue Mountains as well as major

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 many of those in the ...

such as

Mount Hood Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...

, Mount Adams,

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

and

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

In 2010 more than 71,000 people visited the mountain.Photo Gallery - Traveler Stats
Retrieved 31 May 2015.

Hiking

The Canyon and Skyline Trails reach the peak. The Canyon Trail is long and starts at Trailhead Park. The Canyon Trail only allows hikers. The Skyline Trail is long and starts off of Dallas Road on the northwest side of Badger. The Skyline Trail goes along the spine of Badger Mountain and is open to hiking,

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

and horseback riding. The Langdon, Sagebrush and Badger Flats Trails do not reach the peak. The Sagebrush Trail is a spur off of the Skyline Trail, connecting it to Trailhead Park. The Langdon Trail wraps around the south side of the mountain, offering views of Badger Canyon and the

Horse Heaven Hills The Horse Heaven Hills are a long range of high, rolling hills in Klickitat, Yakima, and Benton counties in Washington. The hills are an anticline ridge in the Yakima Fold Belt formed by north–south compression of lava flows in the Columb ...

. It is open to hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. The Badger Flats Trail is completely within Trailhead Park and is in length.

Climate and wildlife

Badger Mountain lies in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

of the Cascade Mountains and as such has a semi-arid climate with mild winters and hot summers. The average rainfall at the nearest

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

is per year and temperatures above are not uncommon. Because of this, Badger Mountain shares much of the same wildlife as the surrounding area including

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia (plant), Artemisia''. The best-known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrush is native to the western half of North Amer ...

jackrabbit Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The genu ...

s and

rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...

s. There are no naturally occurring trees on the mountain. Winter snows are also not uncommon.

References

External links