What would the "7 Wonders of Washington State" be? (Spokane: live in, to move)

[FlutterTrees]

When voting, please limit your choices to just seven. Thanks!

I’ve been looking around for a list for Washington, and I’ve yet to find one. Yet there are three national parks, 2 national monuments, and much more in this amazing and diverse state! Washington is incredibly rich in natural beauty, and arguably the prettiest state in the contiguous United States. What does everyone think the "Seven Natural Wonders of Washington State" should be?

Here is a list of beautiful places in Washington to consider:

-Mount Rainier National Park (Mount Rainier, the highest mountain in the Cascades, standing at 14,411 feet. Prominence: 13,212')
-Olympic National Park
-Olympic Coast
-Olympic Mountains (Mount Olympus, standing at 7,979', Prominence: 7,838')
-Temperate Rainforests
-North Cascades National Park
-Mount Shuksan (Part of North Cascades National Park) (Elevation: 9,131', Prominence: 4,409')
-Mount Baker (In the North Cascades Area. Elevation: 10,781', Prominence: 8,812')
-Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (Elevation: 8,366', Prominence: 4,606')
-Ape Caves (one of the longest lava tubes in the world)
-Mount Adams (At 12,276 feet, it's the second highest mountain in the state of Washington, and the second largest volcano in terms of eruptive volume in the entire Cascade Range, after Mount Shasta. Prominence: 8,117')
-Glacier Peak (most isolated of the five major stratovolcanoes of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in Washington. Elevation: 10,541', Prominence: 7,497')
-Mount Stuart (It is the second highest non-volcanic peak in the state, after Bonanza Peak and tenth-highest overall. Elevation: 9,416', Prominence: 5,354')
-Goat Rocks (a series of rugged volcanic peaks in the Cascade Range, between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams. Elevation: 8,182', Prominence: 3,665'. The Goat Rocks volcano once reached heights of up to 12,000 feet, at tall as Mount Adams.)
-Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
-Snoqualmie Falls
-Enchantment Lakes (Alpine Lakes Wilderness, East-central Cascades)
-Palouse Falls State Park (carved out by the Mizzoula Ice Floods).
-The Channeled Scablands (carved out by the Mizzoula Ice Floods).
-San Juan Islands


Here is my choice for the “7 Natural Wonders of Washington State:”



1. Mount Rainier National Park- centered around the tallest mountain in the Cascade Range, Rainier, and encompasses the largest glacial system in the lower 48 states. The park was the fourth national park to ever be designated in the U.S. and is renowned for some of the best wildflower displays found in the entire Cascade Range.





2. The Olympic Rainforests and Coastline- one of largest temperate rainforests in the world, and reaches down to the rugged Olympic Coastline, the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the lower 48 states. It resides in the Olympic National Park, which is unique in the U.S. for featuring three types of parks, the rugged shoreline, the lush rainforest, and the rugged mountains reaching heights of over 7,000 feet high!




3. Palouse Falls State Park and the Channeled Scablands- Its size and splendor make Palouse Falls one of the most scenic and impressive waterfalls in the Channeled Scablands and all of Washington, its vertical cliffs scoured clean by a flood unleashed when a large glacial lake drained. They are a geologically unique erosional feature in the U.S. state of Washington.




4. North Cascades National Park- Boasts more glaciers than any other U.S. park outside of Alaska. Glaciers carve their way down deep gorges carved out between granite peaks amid peaks with names like Forbidden, Terror, and Liberty Bell. This area of jagged, hard-crested peaks is known as the “American Alps.”




5. Mount Adams- Washington’s “Forgotten Giant” is the largest volcano in the Pacific Northwest and the second tallest in the state, making Adams one of the most impressive mountains in the Cascades. It is topped by 11 icy glaciers, the largest is the Adams Glacier, which cascades down from the summit icecap in a series of very impressive icefalls.




6. San Juan Islands- an archipelago consisting of a staggering 172 islands as well over 300 miles of shoreline carved out by a huge glacier that carved out the entire Pudget Sound lowland. The islands are famous for their resident pods of Orca whales and for their inspiring views of the mountains and sound in all directions.




7. Mount St. Helens- Erupted at 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, and blew down or scorched 230 square miles of forested land. The land is still recovering and life now flourishes in this healing and dynamic land. Mount St. Helens is located in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Mount St. Helens will very likely become Washington’s fourth national park—it certainly deserves it!



What do you think should make the list/be omitted?

[Haakon]

That's a pretty good list.

[PS90]

Nice post. Thanks for the pics. And excellent variety of options. Ain't this a great state?

Although I think it's part of the "channeled scablands", I'm adding a pic of Dry Falls specifically. And don't forget the Selkirk Mountains in NE WA.

[corvidae]

That's a good list, Flutter. I would personally substitute the Columbia Gorge for Mt. Adams, but I agree with everything else.

[cdelena]

Great list. One of the geologic features seldom noted but very impressive are the 'dry falls' in Grant county.

[MJ5150]

Neat idea for a thread. Turn it into a book, sell it to tourists. Win!

-Mike

[Old Monkey]

All of the above...and more!

[FlutterTrees]

Originally Posted by PS90

Nice post. Thanks for the pics. And excellent variety of options. Ain't this a great state?

Thanks! This state is awesome, would love to move there someday. I've always had a passion for Washington state, even if I actually live in Happy Valley, which is in the general Portland area.

Originally Posted by PS90

Although I think it's part of the "channeled scablands", I'm adding a pic of Dry Falls specifically. And don't forget the Selkirk Mountains in NE WA.

Yeah, I considered the Selkirk Mountains too, but didn't include them since most of the range is in BC and Idaho. Beautiful pics though! I would love to explore the Selkirk Mtns too, but it's so far from where I live! If I ever go to Spokane, I'll be sure to check those mountains out. I can't believe I forgot about Dry Falls too.

[FlutterTrees]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Neat idea for a thread. Turn it into a book, sell it to tourists. Win!

-Mike

Thanks! You know what? I think I'm gonna do it! Washington is such a beautiful state, it needs a book like that! Here in Oregon I never see anything about travelling Washington, it really sucks too. I always have to head up to Vancouver, WA to get books/maps of Washington. People here in Portland never seem to realize just how beautiful Washington is. They know more about Crater Lake, the Oregon coast, and Mt Hood than Washington's Mt Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades national parks it seems. I keep encountering this attitude that "Oregon is the prettiest state" in the west---though most who have said this have never seen much of Washington outside of I-5, yet at the same time have been all over Oregon.

[FlutterTrees]

Here's the current ranking (as of 1/22/14) according to how everyone voted:

1. Olympic National Park (11+5+7+7 = 30 points)
2. Mount Rainier National Park (13 points)
3. San Juan Islands (12 points)
4. Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (10 points)
5. Snoqualmie Falls (10 points)
6. North Cascades National Park (9 points)
7. Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (8 points)

When combining the Olympic Coast (5 pts), Olympic Mountains (7 pts), and Olympic Rainforest (7 pts), Olympic National Park wins by a landslide! However, Mount Rainier has the most votes if each poll choice was counted separately.