North+Cascades+National+Park

By: Ethan T.

North Cascades National Park is a place very sensitive to climate change. There are waterfalls that go into huge valleys. It has more than 300 glaciers. There are lots of activities to do there. There are lots of mountains, lakes, and rivers to see in the park.

Location, Size, and Distance:
North Cascades National Park is located in Sedro Woolley, Washington. It takes up 504,780.94 acres of space. It is a pretty big park. It goes from Canada's Fraser River to south past Oregon. The distance from Oskaloosa, Iowa to the park is pretty far. It is 1818.5 miles away from here. It would take 28 hours and 18 minutes to get there.

The park is open every day of the year. The visitors center is open from April to mid-November from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is open longer hours July through Labor Day. It is also open Saturday and Sunday for most of the rest of the year.

In the winter, there is heavy snow and rain. In spring and winter, avalanches are common. In the spring, snow can be found at high elevations. There is also lots of storms in spring, fall, and winter in the back country so bring warm, waterproof clothing and a (warm, waterproof) tent. In the summer, it gets very hot. It is usually dry, warm, and is usually around 90°F.

History:
The North Cascades became a park on October 2,1968. Lyndon B. Johnson helped make it a national park. At one point there were lots of mines in the park. Miners mined for gold, lead, zinc, and platinum. They did find some of these materials. The first people there were fur traders called Euro-Americans. There are 260 prehistoric sites that have been found. They have also found some of the abandoned mines. The mountains there used to be a barrier for early white explorers. The explorers gave the mountains names that show how they felt about the mountain barriers. For example: Mt. Terror, Mt. Challenger, Mt. Fury, Mt. Despair, Mt. Torment, and Desolation Peak. Now do you understand how they felt about the mountains? Also lots of indians would travel the Cascades long ago.



Facts:
One thing I thought was pretty cool was how they used to have gold, zinc, lead, and platinum mines. There are more insects in the park than there are animals. In fact, 95% of animal types on the Earth are insects. North Cascades has more glaciers than any of the lower 48 states. The park is also known as the North American Alps.

Things To See:
While you are at the park, you might see very big, deep valleys with waterfalls cascading into the rivers below. Since there are more than 300, you'll probably see a few glaciers. Also, since there are more insects than animals, you will probably see lots of them too. Some of the animals you might see there are: bats, beavers, flying squirrels, marmots, mountain goats, pikas, snowshoe hares, weasels, bears, and birds.

Things To Do:
One of the things that lots of people do when they go to the park is take a tour. You can take a tour of the park on foot or on a boat. A little more risky activity might be mountain climbing. You can climb the mountain's jagged peaks. An activity that would be good for everyone though, would be fishing. You can fish on the park's rivers and lakes. On the rivers, you can also take rafting trips. When your all done with all the park's activities, you can stay at the campgrounds or at the small community of Stehekin.

Resources:
http://www.mapquest.com/ [] [] http://www.nationalparks.org/ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page