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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
The Cascade Mountains and surrounding area are occasionally referred as Cascadia.
Although Microsoft's Encarta and Encarta World Atlas both describe the Cascades as being a northern continuation of the Sierra Nevada Mountains I'm informed by Donald Mark (dlmark@mind.net) that this is not the case. Donald says:
The Cascades are not an extension of the Sierra Nevadas. They are a completely separate range with different origins. The Cascades are largely volcanic; the Sierras are fault block mountains. On the map, it looks like the ranges are extensions of each other but when you drive there you can see that they are entirely different.My thanks to Donald for setting the record straight.
The Cascades lie to the east of the Coast Ranges, about 100 to 150 miles inland from the coast itself. In Oregon, the fertile Willamette Valley lies between the Coast Ranges and the Cascades.
I once read a claim that there is some doubt over whether Lassen Peak in California is in the Cascades or the Sierras. According to both Donald Mark and Encarta, Lassen Peak is the southernmost peak of the Cascades. This makes every sense to me since Lassen is a volcano and I cannot see that there is any doubt about the matter.
In California, Mount Shasta is also part of the Cascade Range.
In Oregon, Crater Lake National Park, Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson all lie in the Cascade Range.
In Washington State, many volcanoes including Mount Adams, Mount Baker, Mount St Helens and Mount Rainier lie in the Cascades. Mount Rainier is the highest peak in the Cascades.
North Cascades National Park in northern Washington State is highly scenic, although access is largely limited to the North Cascades Highway, Washington State Highway 20.
In British Columbia elevations reach about 8000 feet in the Cascades but I have no information about any individual peaks.
Rainfall levels are high to the west of the Cascades and in the mountains themselves. To the east of the Cascades rainfall is very considerably less and southeastern parts of Oregon are considered as forming part of the Great Basin Desert. A large area east of the Cascades in Washington State is used for agricultural purposes and is known as the Inland Empire.
The Cascades derive their name from the cascades (waterfalls) of the Columbia River.
Pacific Northwest Geographical Features
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Most recently modified 6-Jun-03