Goat Rocks Wilderness

Goat Rocks Wilderness
Map showing the location of Goat Rocks Wilderness
Map showing the location of Goat Rocks Wilderness
Map showing the location of Goat Rocks Wilderness
Map showing the location of Goat Rocks Wilderness
LocationLewis / Yakima counties, Washington, USA
Nearest cityYakima, WA
Coordinates46°30′44″N 121°27′14″W / 46.51222°N 121.45389°W / 46.51222; -121.45389
Area108,096 acres (437.45 km2)[1]
EstablishedSeptember 3, 1964
Governing bodyU.S. Forest Service
Goat Rocks Wilderness

Goat Rocks Wilderness is a U.S. wilderness area in Washington, United States, comprising 108,096 acres (43,745 ha) of Okanagan–Wenatchee National Forest and Gifford Pinchot National Forest on the crest of the Cascade Range south of U.S. Highway 12. Its central feature is a number of rugged peaks, the Goat Rocks, that are named after the numerous mountain goats that live in the area.[2]

Extinct for some two million years, a volcano with an elevation of 12,000 feet (3,700 m) once dominated this landscape. The eroded remnant of this volcano consists of rugged peaks that average over 7,000 feet (2,100 m) elevation. The highest point among them is Gilbert Peak, at 8,184 feet (2,494 m) with a prominence of 3,664 feet (1,117 m). On the shaded northern slopes of the major peaks are the Packwood, McCall, Conrad, and Meade glaciers. The wilderness is drained by the North and South Forks of the Tieton, Cispus, and Cowlitz rivers and their tributaries. The lowest point in the wilderness is near Packwood Lake at 2,920 feet (890 m).

Mountain goats above the North Fork of the Tieton River
Old Snowy Mountain
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference wilderness.net was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference usfs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).