Olympic Peninsula

The peninsula and Olympic National Park

Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Queets River

Mount Olympus

The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous United States, and Cape Flattery, the north-westernmost point, are on the peninsula. The Olympic Peninsula contained many of the last unexplored places in the lower 48. It remained largely unmapped until Arthur Dodwell and Theodore Rixon mapped most of its topography and timber resources between 1898 and 1900.^[1]

Geography

The Olympic Peninsula is home to temperate rain forests, including the Hoh, Queets, and Quinault. Rain forest vegetation is concentrated primarily in the western part of the peninsula, as the interior mountains create a rain shadow effect in areas to the east, resulting in a much drier climate in those locales.

The Olympic mountain range sits in the center of the Olympic Peninsula. This range is the second largest in Washington State. Its highest peak is Mt. Olympus.

Major salmon-bearing rivers on the Olympic Peninsula include, clockwise from the southwest: the Humptulips, the Quinault, the Queets, the Quillayute, Bogachiel, the Sol Duc, the Lyre, the Elwha (see Elwha Ecosystem Restoration), the Dungeness, the Dosewallips, the Hamma Hamma, the Skokomish, and the Wynoochee River.

Natural lakes on the peninsula include Kitsap Lake, Lake Crescent, Lake Ozette, Lake Sutherland, Lake Quinault, and Lake Pleasant. Four dammed rivers form the reservoirs of Lake Aldwell, Lake Mills, Lake Cushman, and Wynoochee Lake.

The peninsula contains many state and national parks, including Anderson Lake, Bogachiel, Dosewallips, Fort Flagler, Fort Worden, Kitsap Memorial, Lake Cushman, Manchester, Mystery Bay, Old Fort Townsend, Potlatch, Sequim Bay, Shine Tidelands, and Triton Cove state parks; Olympic National Park; and the Olympic National Forest. Within the Olympic National Forest, there are five designated wilderness areas: The Brothers, Buckhorn, Colonel Bob, Mt. Skokomish, and Wonder Mountain. Just off the west coast is the Washington Islands Wilderness.

A major effort is underway to protect additional wilderness areas on the Olympic National Peninsula, protect salmon streams under the Wild & Scenic River Act and provide a means for Olympic National Park to offer to buy land adjacent to the Park from willing sellers. Wild Olympics Campaign

Clallam, Kitsap and Jefferson counties, as well as the northern parts of Grays Harbor and Mason counties, are on the peninsula. The Kitsap Peninsula, bounded by the Hood Canal and the Puget Sound, is an arm of land extending from the larger Olympic Peninsula.^{[citation needed]}

From Olympia, the state capital, U.S. Route 101 runs along the Olympic Peninsula's southern edge and up the western and northern shorelines. Port Angeles, the Peninsula's second largest town, was once designated as The United States Auxiliary Capitol.

Politics

It is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Norman D. Dicks.

Cities and towns

• Amanda Park
• Belfair
• Bremerton
• Brinnon
• Chimacum
• Clallam Bay
• Discovery Bay
• Eldon
• Forks
• Hoodsport
• Hoquiam
• Humptulips
• Kalaloch
• La Push
• Lilliwaup
• Moclips
• Neah Bay
• Ocean City
• Ocean Shores
• Ozette
• Pacific Beach
• Port Angeles
• Port Hadlock
• Port Ludlow
• Port Orchard
• Port Townsend
• Potlatch
• Poulsbo
• Quilcene
• Quinault
• Sequim
• Sekiu
• Shelton
• Union

References

1. ^ Majors, Harry M. (1975). Exploring Washington. Van Winkle Publishing Co. p. 71. ISBN 9780918664006. http://books.google.com/books?id=CoWrPQAACAAJ. 

External links

• Olympic National Park
• University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – The Pacific Northwest Olympic Peninsula Community Museum A web-based museum showcasing aspects of the rich history and culture of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula communities. Features cultural exhibits, curriculum packets and a searchable archive of over 12,000 items that includes historical photographs, audio recordings, videos, maps, diaries, reports and other documents.
• Olympic Peninsula at the Open Directory Project

Coordinates: 47°47′54″N 123°37′05″W / 47.79833°N 123.61806°W / 47.79833; -123.61806