Wallaby Peak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wallaby Peak |
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Wallaby Peak, west aspect
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 7,995 ft (2,437 m) |
| Prominence | 475 ft (145 m) |
| Geography | |
 Wallaby Peak
Location in Washington (state)
Wallaby Peak
Location in the United States
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| Location | Okanogan County, Washington |
| Parent range | Cascade Range |
| Topo map | USGS Silver Star Mountain |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | 45 million years old |
| Type of rock | (Rapakivi texture) granite |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | brothers Helmy and Fred Beckey, Walt Varney, June 17, 1942 |
| Easiest route | Scrambling via south ridge |
Wallaby Peak is a mountain in Washington. It stands about 7,995-foot (2,437-metre) tall. This peak is found in Okanogan County. It's also part of the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness.
Wallaby Peak is a member of the Methow Mountains. These mountains are a smaller part of the larger Cascade Range. The peak sits on a place called Kangaroo Ridge. It's about two miles east of Washington Pass. You can often see it from there. The closest taller peak is Big Kangaroo. It is about 0.86 mi (1.38 km) north of Wallaby Peak. Water from Wallaby Peak flows into nearby creeks. These creeks then join the Methow River.
Weather at Wallaby Peak
Most of the weather in this area comes from the Pacific Ocean. It usually moves northeast towards the Cascade Mountains. When this air hits the tall mountains, it's forced to rise. As it goes higher, it cools down. This causes the moisture in the air to turn into rain or snow. This process is called orographic lift.
Because of this, the western side of the North Cascades gets a lot of rain and snow. This is especially true during winter. Winters are often cloudy here. But in summer, high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean bring clear skies. This means there's often little or no cloud cover. The snow here tends to be wet and heavy. This can create a risk of avalanches, which are dangerous slides of snow.
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How Wallaby Peak Was Formed
The North Cascades have very rugged land. You can see sharp peaks, long ridges, and deep valleys carved by glaciers. These amazing shapes were created by geological events. These events happened millions of years ago. They caused big changes in how high the land was. These changes also led to different climates and types of plants.
The Cascade Mountains started forming a very long time ago. This was during the late Eocene Epoch. This was when the North American Plate slowly moved over the Pacific Plate. This movement caused a lot of volcanic activity. Also, small pieces of the Earth's crust, called terranes, joined together. This helped create the North Cascades about 50 million years ago. Wallaby Peak is made of granite. It's part of a large body of granite called the Golden Horn batholith. Many peaks near Washington Pass are also made of granite.
About two million years ago, during the Pleistocene period, glaciers played a big role. Huge sheets of ice moved across the land. They carved out the landscape again and again. As they moved, they left behind piles of rock. The valleys you see today often have a "U" shape. This shape was made by these ancient glaciers. The mountains also got taller from processes like uplift (when land pushes up) and faulting (when cracks in the Earth's crust move). These forces, along with glaciers, created the tall peaks and deep valleys of the North Cascades.
