Mount Constance | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 7,756 ft (2,364 m)[1] |
Prominence | 1,956 ft (596 m)[1] |
Parent peak | Mount Deception (7,788 ft)[1] |
Isolation | 5.67 mi (9.12 km)[1] |
Coordinates | 47°46′22″N 123°07′38″W / 47.772815078°N 123.1273536°W[2] |
Geography | |
Location | Jefferson County, Washington, U.S. |
Parent range | Olympic Mountains |
Topo map | USGS Mount Deception |
Geology | |
Rock age | Eocene |
Rock type | Basalt |
Climbing | |
First ascent | 1922 by Robert Schellin and A.E. Smith |
Easiest route | Rock & Ice climb |
Mount Constance is a peak in the Olympic Mountains of Washington and the third highest in the range. It is the most visually prominent peak on Seattle's western skyline. Despite being almost as tall as the ice-clad Mount Olympus to the west, Mount Constance has little in the way of glaciers and permanent snow because the eastern, and particularly this northeastern, portion of the Olympics receives far less precipitation.[3] However the narrow and steep Crystal Glacier still exists on the mountain's north face, shaded by the bulk of the main peak and with a small lake at its terminus. In addition, the treeline is higher here than mountains to the west, also hinting at the drier alpine conditions.
By virtue of its position at the eastern edge of the Olympics, Mount Constance also enjoys spectacular vertical relief. For example, it rises over 6,900 feet (2,100 m) above the Dosewallips River to the south in only 3 horizontal miles (4.8 km). It is also only 12 miles (20 km) from the tidewater of Hood Canal. The summit of Mount Constance lies on the boundary between Olympic National Park and Buckhorn Wilderness. The Constance massif includes Mount Constance, Inner Constance, the twin peaks of Warrior to the north, as well as numerous subsidiary summits on rocky southern ridges enclosing the cirque basin that contains Lake Constance.