The Needles (Washington) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Needles |
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The Needles seen from North Cascades Highway
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 8,160 ft (2,490 m) |
| Prominence | 1,759 ft (536 m) |
| Geography | |
 The Needles
Location in Washington (state)
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| Parent range | North Cascades |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | Helmy Beckey, Larry Strathdee in 1944 |
| Easiest route | Climb |
The Needles is a tall granite mountain in Washington state. It stands about 8,160-foot (2,490-metre) high. You can find it in Okanogan County. This mountain is part of the Okanagan Range, which is a smaller part of the larger North Cascades mountain range. The Needles is located within the Okanogan National Forest. The closest taller mountain is Tower Mountain, which is about 2.26 miles (3.64 km) to the southwest.
Mountain Weather: The Needles' Climate
The Needles is in a "marine west coast" climate zone. This means it's near the ocean, so the weather is often mild and wet. Most of the weather systems start over the Pacific Ocean. They then travel northeast towards the Cascade Range.
When these weather systems reach the North Cascades, the tall mountains force the air upwards. As the air rises, it cools down and drops its moisture. This creates a lot of rain or snowfall on the western side of the Cascades. This process is called orographic lift. Because of this, the western North Cascades get a lot of rain and snow, especially in winter.
In winter, it's usually cloudy. But in summer, high-pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean often bring clear skies. The ocean's influence means the snow can be wet and heavy. This can lead to a high risk of avalanches, which are dangerous slides of snow down a mountain.
How The Needles Formed: Geology
The North Cascades mountains have very rugged shapes. You can see sharp peaks, long ridges, and deep valleys carved by glaciers. These amazing shapes were created by geological events that happened millions of years ago. These events caused big changes in the land's height and led to different climates.
The Cascade Mountains began forming millions of years ago. This was during a time called the late Eocene Epoch. The North American Plate (a huge piece of Earth's crust) was slowly moving over the Pacific Plate. This movement caused many volcanic eruptions. Also, small pieces of Earth's crust, called terranes, joined together to form the North Cascades about 50 million years ago. The Needles mountain is mostly made of granite from a large underground rock mass called the Golden Horn batholith.
About two million years ago, during the Pleistocene period, huge sheets of ice called glaciers moved across the land. They moved forward and then melted back many times. As they moved, they scraped the landscape, leaving behind rocks and debris. The river valleys in the area have a "U" shape. This shape was created by these glaciers. The land also lifted up (called uplift) and broke along cracks (called faulting). These processes, along with glaciation, created the tall peaks and deep valleys you see in the North Cascades today.
Images for kids
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The Needles seen from North Cascades Highway
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The Needles seen from Wallaby Peak
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The Needles seen from Slate Peak
