Crooked Bum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Crooked Bum |
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Crooked Bum seen from westbound North Cascades Highway
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 6,937 ft (2,114 m) |
| Prominence | 857 ft (260 m) |
| Geography | |
 Crooked Bum
Location in Washington (state)
Crooked Bum
Location in the United States
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| Location | Skagit County, Washington, United States |
| Parent range | North Cascades |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Arriva |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Scrambling |
Crooked Bum is a mountain peak in the North Cascades mountain range. It stands tall at 6,937 feet (2,114 meters) in the state of Washington, USA. This mountain is found within the Okanogan National Forest. It sits right on the border between Skagit County and Chelan County.
Crooked Bum is located just west of Rainy Pass. It is also about two miles east of Corteo Peak. A popular hiking path, the Maple Pass Trail, goes along the south side of the mountain. This trail stays high above a beautiful spot called Lake Ann. Water from the north side of Crooked Bum flows into Granite Creek. This creek then joins the Skagit River. On the south side, water drains into Bridge Creek, which flows into the Chelan River.
What's the Weather Like?
Most of the weather systems that affect Crooked Bum start in the Pacific Ocean. They then travel northeast towards the Cascade Mountains. When these weather systems reach the North Cascades, the tall peaks force the air upwards. This process is called Orographic lift. As the air rises, it cools down and drops its moisture. This moisture falls as rain or snow.
Because of this, the western side of the North Cascades gets a lot of precipitation. This is especially true during winter, when heavy snowfall is common. In winter, the weather is often cloudy. However, during summer, high-pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean bring clear skies. This means there's usually little to no cloud cover in the summer. The snow here tends to be wet and heavy due to the ocean's influence. This can make avalanches a real danger.
How Was Crooked Bum Formed?
The North Cascades mountains have a very rugged landscape. You can see sharp peaks, long ridges, and deep valleys carved by glaciers. The way the land looks today was shaped by huge geological events that happened millions of years ago. These events created the big changes in elevation across the Cascade Range. These changes also led to different climates in different areas. These climate differences then created the many types of plants and trees you see in this ecoregion.
The Cascade Mountains started to form millions of years ago, during a time called the late Eocene Epoch. This happened because the North American Plate was slowly moving over the Pacific Plate. This movement caused many periods of volcanic activity. Also, small pieces of the Earth's crust, called terranes, came together to form the North Cascades about 50 million years ago.
Later, during the Pleistocene period, which was over two million years ago, glaciers played a big role. These huge sheets of ice moved forward and backward many times. As they moved, they scraped away the land, leaving behind piles of rock and debris. The "U"-shaped valleys you see today were formed by these glaciers. The combination of the land being pushed up (uplift) and cracks forming in the Earth's crust (faulting), along with the glaciers, created the tall peaks and deep valleys of the North Cascades.
