CREATION OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK 



fit it peculiarly to be a national park, forever set aside 

 for the pleasure and instruction of the people. The 

 region is one of such exceptional rainfall and snowfall 

 that the preservation of its forests is of unusual im- 

 portance as a protection against floods in the lower 

 valleys ; but the scenic features, which mark it out 

 for a national park, attract tourists, who set fire to 

 the timber. This destruction goes on notwithstanding 

 it is a forest reserve, and will continue until protection 

 is afforded by adequate supervision of the area, whether 

 as a reserve or park. 



The reserve is traversed through the middle from 

 north to south by the crest of the Cascade Range, which 

 has an elevation varying from 5,300 to 6,800 feet. This 

 is the divide between tributaries of Puget Sound, 

 flowing west, and those of Yakima River, flowing east. 

 Mount Rainier, the isolated volcanic peak, 14,400 feet 

 high, stands 12 miles west of the divide, from which it is 

 separated by a deep valley. 



The eastern half of the reserve differs from the 

 western in climate, in flora, and in fauna, in geographic 

 and geologic features, and in aspects of scenery. The 

 eastern slope of the Cascade Range within the reserve 

 is a mountainous region, with summits rising to a 

 general elevation of 6,500 to 7,600 feet above the sea. 

 It is forest covered and presents many attractions to 

 the tourist and hunter ; but it is not peculiar among 

 the mountain regions of America either for grandeur 

 or interest, and it is not an essential part of the area 

 to be set apart as a national park. 



The western slope of the Cascades within the reserve 

 is short and steep as compared with the eastern. Much 

 of it is precipitous, particularly opposite Mount 

 Rainier, where its bare walls would appear most grand 

 were they not in the shadow of that overpowering 

 peak. North and south of Rainier this slope is more 

 gradual and densely wooded. 



The western half of the Pacific reserve, that portion 

 u 289 



