37 THE MOUNTAINEER 



;ii(' i'orccs of njiliii'c, rcpi-cscntcd hy the wratlici-iiiu ('Iciiiciils. riiiiiiiiii; 

 watci- and <ila('i('rs, liavc chiseled llir inoiiiifaiiis as we nov\^ kiiovv' them. 



Xwy litth' is now known I'eiiardint; tlie nature of the roek formations 

 in the ()lynii)ies. Aloni^' Ihe ocean sliores on the west and noi-lh coarse sed- 

 imentary rocks ar-e most common. Sandstones anti conulomerates predom- 

 inate, witli some shales, l)ut no limestones. The i-ocks are all folded and 

 faulted and show the wor-k of mountain makin<i' foi-ces on a iii-and scale. 

 In some places seams of coal occur amoni^' sediments of the Eocene time 

 showin<>' the existence at that a^c of coal makino- swamjis. Alonii' the 

 Hood's canal side of the Olympics are nuuiy outcrops of ii-iieous rocks, 

 indicating that tlows of lava once came from out the nu)unlains. In some 

 places small bits of native copper are scattered through the lava and this 

 discovery has been followed by extensive prospecting for commercial de- 

 posits of the copper-bearing rock. The few^ samples of rock which have 

 been brought out from the heart of the nu)untains are largely of slate and 

 schist types, indicating that metamorphic rocks prevail. Prom analogy 

 with the northern Cascades, and with the coast mountains both north and 

 south, a great series of metamorphic rocks with various intrusives w^ould 

 be the type of fornuition most expected. Prospectors have reported the 

 occurrence of granite boulders in some of the stream beds and it is vei-y 

 likely that this formation occurs at several points. A large variety of 

 metallic minerals have been found by prospectors in the Olympics, but no 

 paying mines have been developed. 



The amount of rainfall in the Olymjiics is notal)ly high. This is to l)e 

 expected from the fact that the mountains stand immediately facing a 

 great body of water directly in the path of the ocean winds. The air com- 

 ing from the ocean is heavily laden with moisture ; the saturation point is 

 reached the moment the shore is met, and hence the heaviest rainfall is 

 along the coast. At Neah bay the usual rainfall is about 100 inches yearly ; 

 farther south at Clearwater it is 120 inches yearly ; w^bile at a new estab- 

 lished station on Quiniault lake it is 135 inches yearly. The rain occurs 

 mostly in the winter season, the months of the year with minimum rain- 

 fall being July and August. In ascending the mountains from the west or 

 ocean side the rainfall continues very heavy until a height of about 4000 

 feet is attained when it begins to decrease. At this point also \hv rain gives 

 way largely to snow so that the higher (Olympics are clothed each winter 

 with a deep nuintle of snow. Upon the highest of the mountain masses the 

 snow fields merge into glaciers, indicating that the summer sun is not equal 

 to the task of wholly removing the winter's m\ow. On the eastern "slope 

 of the Olympics the pi'ecipitation rapidly decreases until it amounts to 

 a])out 25 inches only when the sea-level is reached, as at Fort Townsend. 

 The ditference in rainfall betAveen Clearwater at the western foot of the 

 mountains, and Port Townsend at the eastern foot, is a classic example of 

 the contrast in precipitation afforded by the windward and the leeward 

 side of highlands which lie in the paths of moisture laden winds. 



The forests of the Olympics are among the best to be found along the 

 Pacific coast. The heavy rainfall contributes not only to a great tree growth 

 but leads to an unusual development of shrubs and the smaller plants gen- 

 erally. From sea level to a height of about 2000 feet the plant growth hr.s 

 produced a tangled jungle which is almost wholly impem^rable except 

 wdiere trails have been made. In the heart of the mountains there are con- 



