The state of Washington is a very unique and diverse place. One can almost argue you can split the state in half and no one would notice. The western half is very wet and mild while the eastern half has more of a continental climate and is drier. Two great mountain ranges are found here, the Olympics and the Cascades. The main industrial of Seattle and the Puget Sound lowlands lie between these two ranges. On the Olympic Peninsula west of Seattle, Olympic National Park protects the only temperate rain forest in North America. The Olympic Mountains is a very diverse area with all ecosystems ranging from rain forest to glacier capped alpine mountains. The radial drainage pattern of these mountains is quite unique and Mount Olympus at the center is the highest in the range lies at 7,995 feet in elevation. Further west, Washington has an entire coastline of rugged Pacific beaches protected by the National Park. This area is also where much of the rich native american history can be found. This area gets very active around the 4th of July.Further east, on the other side of the Puget Lowlands is the mighty Cascade Range which is broken down mainly politically rather than geologically. First off, the Cascade Crest and areas to the west are much wetter and far more glaciated than the mountains slightly to the east. There are three distinct regions fitting this description. The North Cascades National Park is far and away the most mountainous, rugged and remote area in the Washington Cascades. Giant glaciers like the Boston Glacier, Chikamin Glacier and the Inspiration Glacier stretch all the way down below 6,000 feet in places. Further south lies the Glacier Peak Wilderness, one of the nations largest wilderness areas which is centered around Glacier Peak. This mountain is one of the five volcanoes in the state and is a very long trek to get to. The Alpine Lakes Wilderness expands from Highway 2 at the north to I-90 at the south marks the southern end of the Washington Cascades west of the crest. However the Stuart lies considerably east of the crest and the area around Leavenworth is one of the best in the state for rock climbing, ice climbing and hiking.

East of the Cascade Crest the scenery is much different. The mountains receive much less snowfall and the forests are thinner. Alpine and Western larch trees are abundant which turn brilliant yellow and gold during the fall. Generally these areas are more accessible but also less rugged and include the Pasayten Wilderness at the northern end, and the Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness just east of the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Even though these areas get less moisture and are less rugged, they are typically higher in elevation. The effect the rain shadow has is very dramatic.

Eastern Washington on the other hand can easily be mistaken for the great plains. Vast areas of farmlands line the flat landscape for as far as you can see. Nearly the entire eastern half of the state has basalt at the surface from the Columbia River Basalt flows. Only the northeastern corner has some lower mountains surrounding Omak. Spokane is the main population center for the entire area.

Now the southern Cascades south of I-90 are mainly foothills with three dominant features. These are the three monster volcanoes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens. At 14,411 feet, Mount Rainier is by far the highest point in the state and is an icon for the state. Most people when they think of Washington they think of only three things: Mount Rainier, the Space Needle and Rain.