Everything about Mount Rainier National Park totally explained
Mount Rainier National Park is a
United States National Park located in southeast
Pierce County and northeast
Lewis County in
Washington state. It was established on
March 2,
1899, the fifth national park in the United States. The park contains including all of
Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot (4,392 m)
stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet (490 m) to over 14,000 feet (4,300 m). The highest point in the
Cascade Range, around it are valleys, waterfalls, subalpine wildflower meadows, old growth forest and more than 26
glaciers. The volcano is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow on the peak every year and hide it from the crowds that head to the park on weekends.
Mount Rainier is circled by the
Wonderland Trail and is covered by several glaciers and snowfields totaling some .
Carbon Glacier is the largest glacier by volume in the
continental United States, while
Emmons Glacier is the largest glacier by area. About 1.3 million people visit Mount Rainier National Park each year. Mount Rainier is a popular peak for
mountain climbing with some 10,000 attempts per year with approximately 25% making it to the summit.
The park contains outstanding examples of
old growth forests and
subalpine meadows.
History
Ninety-seven percent of the park is preserved as
wilderness under the
National Wilderness Preservation System, including
Clearwater Wilderness, a designation it received in 1988. It is abutted by the
Tatoosh Wilderness. The park was designated a
National Historic Landmark on
February 18,
1997 as a showcase for the
National Park Service Rustic style architecture (or
parkitecture) of the 1920s and 1930s, exemplified by the
Paradise Inn and a masterpiece of early NPS master planning. As an Historic Landmark district, the park was administratively listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Native Americans
The earliest evidence of human activity in the area which is now Mount Rainier National Park is a projectile point dated to circa 4,000-5,800 BP (
before present) found along Bench Lake Trail (the first section of Snow Lake Trail).
A more substantial archeological find was a rock shelter near Fryingpan Creek, east of Goat Island Mountain. Hunting artifacts were found in the shelter. The shelter wouldn't have been used all year round. Cultural affinities suggest the site was used by
Columbia Plateau Tribes from 300 to 1,000 BP.)is the name of an area at approximately on the south slope of Mount Rainier in the national park. Paradise is the most popular destination for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park. 62% of the over 1.3 million people who visited the park in 2000 went to Paradise. Paradise is the location of the historic
Paradise Inn (built 1916),
Paradise Guide House (built 1920) and
Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center (built 1966).
The
National Park Service says that "Paradise is the snowiest place on Earth where snowfall is measured regularly." of snow fell during the winter of 1971-1972, setting a world record for that year. It also holds the Cascade Range record for most snow on the ground with 367 inches (932 cm) on
March 10 1956.
Longmire
Longmire is a
visitor center in Mount Rainier National Park, located east of the Nisqually Entrance. The area is in the
Nisqually River valley at an elevation of between The Ramparts Ridge and the Tatoosh Range. Longmire is surrounded by old-growth
Douglas fir,
western red cedar and
western hemlock.
Longmire is the location of Mount Rainier's National Park Inn, the Longmire Museum, and the 1928 National Park Service Administration Building, which is now a Wilderness Information Center. The National Park Inn is the only accommodation in the park open all year round.
Longmire is the second most popular destination for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park after Paradise. Of the more than 1.3 million people who visited the park in 2000, 38% visited Longmire. On
May 5,
2007, the park reopened to automobile traffic via
State Route 706 at the Nisqually Entrance.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mount Rainier National Park'.
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