Mount Si facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mount Si |
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Mount Si from the southwest
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,167 ft (1,270 m) NGVD 29 |
| Prominence | 247 ft (75 m) |
| Geography | |
 Mount Si
Location in Washington (state)
Mount Si
Location in the United States
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| Parent range | Cascades |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Si |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Hike and short class 3, scramble |
Mount Si is a large mountain located in the northwest of the United States. It stands tall just east of Seattle, Washington. This mountain is part of the western edge of the Cascade Range. It rises high above the flat lands near Puget Sound and overlooks the town of North Bend. Mount Si and its smaller neighbor, Little Si, were named after a local settler named Josiah "Uncle Si" Merritt. Many people learned about Mount Si in the early 1990s from the TV show Twin Peaks, which was filmed in North Bend.
Exploring Mount Si
Mount Si is a very popular place for outdoor activities. It's only about a 45-minute drive from Seattle. Every year, between 80,000 and 100,000 hikers visit the mountain. The land around Mount Si is owned by the state of Washington. It has been set aside as a Natural Resources Conservation Area to protect its natural beauty.
Hiking Trails
The main Mount Si trail is about 4-mile-long (6.5 km). It climbs 3,500 feet (1,070 m) straight up to the top ridge. To reach the very highest point, hikers must do a short, tricky climb called a "scramble." This part is on the north side of the summit and is known as the "Haystack."
There are two main ways to get to the peak:
- The Old Mount Si trail starts from the Little Si parking lot. It is also connected to the Boulder Garden Loop. This trail is 0.6 miles (0.97 km) shorter than the main trail. It is also 270 feet (82 m) steeper and usually has fewer people.
- The Mount Si trail starts from the Mount Si parking lot. This is the more common and well-known path.
How Mount Si Was Formed
Mount Si is what's left of a very old volcano that formed under the ocean. The rocks that make up the mountain have changed a lot over time. They are now very hard and mixed together. These rocks include types like metagabbro. Scientists believe these rock deposits are from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, which were millions of years ago.
Mount Si in Native Stories
Mount Si is an important part of a special story from the Snoqualmie tribe. This story is similar to the Greek myth of Prometheus. In the Snoqualmie legend, Mount Si is the dead body of Snoqualm, who was the moon.
The story says that Snoqualm had a rope made of cedar bark that stretched between the earth and the sky. But two clever animals, Fox and Blue Jay, climbed this rope. They stole the sun from Snoqualm. Snoqualm chased them down the cedar rope. However, the rope broke, and he fell to his death. After Snoqualm fell, Fox set the sun free in the sky. Fox also gave fire to the people on Earth. People say that a face like Snoqualm's can still be seen in the rocks near the mountain's summit.
