Sentinel Peak (Jefferson County, Washington)

Sentinel Peak is a 6,592-foot-high (2,009 m) mountain summit located in the Olympic Mountains, in Jefferson County of Washington state.[2] Rising in the center of Olympic National Park, its nearest higher peak is Mount Fromme, 1.42 miles (2.29 km) to the northwest.[1] Sentinels Sister is a lower 6,301-foot-high (1,921 m) companion summit situated 0.65 miles (1.05 km) to the southwest.[4] The two peaks stand as sentinels above the Dosewalips Valley and Hayden Pass, and were possibly named by an early expedition of the Seattle Mountaineers.[5] Precipitation runoff from the peak drains to Hood Canal via the Dosewallips River.

Sentinel Peak
Sentinel Peak in May 1992
Highest point
Elevation6,592 ft (2,009 m) [1]
Prominence652 ft (199 m) [1]
Coordinates47°46′44″N 123°20′32″W [2]
Geography
Sentinel Peak
Sentinel Peak
Sentinel Peak (the United States)
Parent rangeOlympic Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Wellesley Peak
Climbing
Easiest routeHiking class 1 via Hayden Pass[3]

Climate

Sentinel Peak is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.[6] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel northeast toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Olympic Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall (Orographic lift). As a result, the Olympics experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall.[6] 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 best months for climbing in terms of favorable weather are June through September.

Geology

The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust.[7] The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.  

See also

References
  1. "Sentinel Peak, Washington". Peakbagger.com.
  2. "Sentinel Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  3. Sentinel Peak climbersguideolympics.com
  4. "Sentinels Sister, Washington". Peakbagger.com.
  5. Parratt, Smitty (1984). Gods and Goblins: A Field Guide to Place Names of Olympic National Park (1st ed.).
  6. McNulty, Tim (2009). Olympic National Park: A Natural History. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press.
  7. Alt, D.D.; Hyndman, D.W. (1984). Roadside Geology of Washington. pp. 249–259. ISBN 0-87842-160-2.
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