The Needles is a mountain ridge located within Olympic National Park in Jefferson County of Washington state.
Description The peaks and pinnacles of The Needles are part of the Olympic Mountains and are situated within the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness. They are bounded by Mount Deception to the south and Gray Wolf Ridge to the north. Precipitation runoff from the ridge drains east into Royal Creek, and west into Gray Wolf River, which are both within the Dungeness River drainage basin. Old-growth forests of Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western redcedar grow on the lower slopes surrounding the peaks.
History This geographical feature's descriptive name has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The 1889–90 Seattle Press Expedition originally named it the "Holmes Range". The expedition, led by James Halbold Christie and Charles Adams Barnes, had also christened Mount Deception as "Mount Holmes", in honor of John H. Holmes of the Boston Herald.
Climate Based on the Köppen climate classification, the Needles range is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Olympic Peninsula. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks, causing moisture to drop in the form of rain or snowfall (Orographic lift). As a result, the range experiences high precipitation, especially during the winter months. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer. The months July through September offer the most favorable weather for visiting The Needles.
Summits Principal summits of The Needles: Name Elevation Prominence First ascent ReferenceMount Johnson7,680 ft480 ft1940Martin Peak7,638 ft238 ft1940Devil's Fang7,600 ftunknown1972Sweat Spire7,560 ftunknown1962Mount Clark7,528 ft608 ft1940Gasp Pinnacle7,520 ft40 ft1958The Incisor7,440 ft40 ft1958Mount Walkinshaw7,378 ft378 ft1961Adelaide Peak7,300 ft120 ft1944Sundial7,200 ft80 ft1944The Arrowhead7,160 ftunknown1962
Gallery
Geology
The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust. The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.
See also
Geology of the Pacific Northwest
References
External links The Needles photo: Flickr
Weather forecast: Mountain Forecast