Reports. 



45 



should be taken to preserve it in its native attractiveness for the 

 generations to come. Such w2iS the unanimous opinion of the 

 large and distinguished body of men and women, representing in 

 their number no less than twenty-two American colleges and 

 universities, in conformity with whose will the Committee mak- 

 ing the present report owes its existence. 



Though the observations of the majority of the members of 

 the Committee were confined to the southerly portion of the 

 reserve and principally to the district known as Paradise Park, 

 it is felt that, in general, what is true here applies with equal 

 force to all sections of the great reservation. 



Because of its comparative accessibility to the large cities of 

 Oregon and Washington, Mt. Rainier National Park, and Para- 

 dise Park in particular, is destined to become in future years 

 a pleasure-ground for thousands of people, as the Adirondacks 

 and the White Mountains are for the inhabitants of Eastern 

 States. 



Situated just below the snow-line on Mt. Rainier, the grandeur 

 and beauty of the region are unsurpassed. The lower slopes are 

 covered with grand forests, which give way at higher alti- 

 tudes to the open park country where the valleys and hillsides 

 are carpeted with green sward spangled with myriads of wild 

 flowers, and ornamented with clumps and groves of sub-alpine 

 firs and spruces, the hardy mountaineers of the botanical world. 

 The vegetation extends up the mountain to nearly six thou- 

 sand feet, above which is the zone of snow and ice whose eternal 

 whiteness makes Rainier a landmark for the traveler and a 

 beacon for the sailor while they are yet scores of miles away. 



Rising west of the Cascade Divide and within sight of the 

 Pacific Ocean, where the landward breezes distribute an enor- 

 mous snow- and rainfall during six months of the year, Mt. 

 Rainier has a great glacier system outranking in this respect 

 as it does in height any mountain in North America outside of 

 Alaska. Its area of glaciers and perpetual snow cover 32,500 

 acres, and it rises in magnificent outlines to a height of 14,528 

 feet above sea-level. Within the limits of Paradise Park one 

 of the largest glaciers, the Nisqually, presses down below 

 timber-line in the park, discharging into the river of the same 

 name. Two others, the Paradise and the Cowlitz, are also within 

 walking distance. 



On the opposite side of the valley from Mt. Rainier, across 

 the Paradise River, rise the sharp, rugged peaks of the Tatoosh 

 Range, beyond whose serrated sky-line from high points within 

 the park may be seen Adams, St. Helens, Hood, and other snow 

 peaks. 



