Mount Olympus (Washington)
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Mount Olympus, at Template:Convert, is the tallest and most prominent mountain in the Olympic Mountains of the U.S. state of Washington. Located on the Olympic Peninsula, it is also a central feature of Olympic National Park. Mount Olympus is the highest summit of the Olympic Mountains; however, peaks such as Mount Constance and The Brothers, on the eastern margin of the range, are better known, being visible from the Seattle metropolitan area.
Description
With notable local relief, Mount Olympus ascends over Template:Convert from the Template:Convert elevation confluence of the Hoh River with Glacier Creek in only Template:Convert. Mount Olympus has Template:Convert of prominence, ranking 5th in the state of Washington.<ref name=howbert/>
Due to heavy winter snowfalls, Mount Olympus supports large glaciers, despite its modest elevation and relatively low latitude. These glaciers include Blue, Hoh, Humes, Jeffers, Hubert, Black Glacier, and White, the longest of which is the Hoh Glacier at Template:Convert. The largest is Blue with a volume of Template:Convert and area of Template:Convert.<ref name=Spicer1986/> As with most temperate latitude glaciers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> these have all been shrinking in area and volume, and shortening in recent decades.
History
According to Edmond S. Meany (1923), Origin of Washington geographic names, citing Joseph A. Costello (1895), The Siwash, their life, legends and tales, the Duwamish used the name Sunh-a-do for the Olympian Mountains (or Coast Range in Costello 1895);<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> besides its unclear origin,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> some references misuse this name for the Native American name of the mountain.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Spanish explorer Juan Pérez named the mountain Cerro Nevado de Santa Rosalía ("Snowy Peak of Saint Rosalia") in 1774. This is said to be the first time a European named a geographic feature in what is now Washington state. On July 4, 1788, British explorer John Meares gave the mountain its present name.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1890 an expedition, led by US Army officer Joseph P. O'Neil, reached the summit, of what is today presumed to have been the southern peak.<ref>"Members of the Olympic Exploring Expedition make first recorded ascent of Mount Olympus on September 22, 1890." www.historylink.org, accessed 26. January 2019</ref>
On March 2, 1909, Mount Olympus National Monument was proclaimed by President Theodore Roosevelt.<ref name=nps_legal/> On June 28, 1938, it was designated a national park by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.<ref name=nps_elwha/> In 1976 the Olympic National Park became an International Biosphere Reserve. In 1981 it was designated a World Heritage Site.<ref name=nps_history/> In 1988 Congress designated 95% of the park as the Olympic Wilderness.
Climate
The peak of Mount Olympus has a tundra climate (ET) with extremely heavy precipitation from October to April and heavy precipitation from May to September. A large part of this precipitation falls as snow. The west peak is the wettest place in mainland USA. Template:Weather box
See also
References
External links
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- The Mountaineers: 1920 Outing to Mt. Olympus - University of Washington Library
- The Mountaineers Photography - University of Washington Library
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