Mount Claywood

Mountain in Washington (state), United States

Mount Claywood

Location of Mount Claywood in Washington

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Mount Claywood

Mount Claywood (the United States)

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CountryUnited StatesStateWashingtonCountyJeffersonProtected areaOlympic National ParkParent rangeOlympic MountainsTopo mapUSGS Wellesley PeakGeologyAge of rockEoceneClimbingEasiest routeclass 2 hiking via Hayden Pass Trail^[3]^[2]

Mount Claywood is a 6,836-foot (2,084-metre) mountain summit located within Olympic National Park in Jefferson County of Washington state.^[4] It is situated at the head of Lost River, and 15 mi (24 km) east of Mount Olympus. Its nearest higher neighbor is Mount Cameron, 2.4 mi (3.9 km) to the northeast.^[1] Other nearby peaks include Mt. Fromme, 0.58 mi (0.93 km) to the southeast, and Sentinel Peak, 2 mi (3.2 km) also to the southeast. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north and west into tributaries of the Elwha River, and east into Claywood Lake, thence Dosewallips River.

History

This mountain was originally named "Mount Clay Wood" in 1885 by Lieutenant Joseph P. O'Neil to honor his superior, Colonel Henry Clay Wood (1832–1918), Assistant Adjutant General, Department of the Columbia, who signed the orders for O'Neil's 1885 exploration of the Olympic Mountains.^[4]^[5] Mt. Claywood marks the expedition's deepest penetration from the north into the Olympic wilderness.^[5]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Claywood is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.^[6] Weather fronts originating in the Pacific Ocean travel northeast toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snow. As a result, the Olympics experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall.^[7] Because of maritime influence, snow tends to be wet and heavy, resulting in avalanche danger. 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.^[7] The months July through September offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.

Geology

The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust.^[8] The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Mount Claywood". Peakbagger.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Claywood, Mount - 6,836' WA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
^ Mount Claywood climbersguideolympics.com
^ ^a ^b "Mount Claywood". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
^ ^a ^b Parratt, Smitty (1984). Gods and Goblins: A Field Guide to Place Names of Olympic National Park (1st ed.).
^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN 1027-5606.
^ ^a ^b McNulty, Tim (2009). Olympic National Park: A Natural History. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press.
^ Alt, D.D.; Hyndman, D.W. (1984). Roadside Geology of Washington. pp. 249–259. ISBN 0-87842-160-2.