Dark Divide
{{about|the region of Washington state|the 2020 film|The Dark Divide}}
File:Sunrise Peak 3481.JPG, {{Convert|5892|feet}}, left skyline, and Jumbo Shoulder (foreground) are major features of the Dark Divide.]]
The Dark Divide is the largest roadless area in western Washington state, comprising approximately 76,000 acres (310 km2) of intact wilderness on Juniper Ridge linking Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams in the southern Cascade Mountains of Washington. In two remote valleys of the Lewis River drainage are 500-year-old trees. These ancient forests are protected from logging as reserves for the northern spotted owl and other species under the Northwest Forest Plan.
Downstream of the confluence of Quartz Creek, the Lewis River plunges over four large waterfalls. Curly Creek, another tributary, is the only cataract in Washington with an intact natural stone bridge, and the early formation of a second natural bridge can be observed.
Although the Dark Divide is largely composed of black basalt, features such as 5,238-foot (1,596 m) Dark Mountain, Dark Creek and Dark Meadows are actually named for John Dark, a 19th-century gold prospector and speculator.
Gallery
File:Jumbo Peak 3482.JPG|A rock outcropping immediately north of the summit of Jumbo Peak with Mount Rainier in the background
File:Jumbo Peak 3246s.JPG|Rock outcropping on slopes of Jumbo Peak
File:Campanula scouleri 3224f.JPG|Pale bellflower (Campanula scouleri)
File:Fragaria virginiana 3128.JPG|Virginia strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
File:Eriogonum umbellatum 3451.JPG|Sulphur flower (Eriogonum umbellatum)
File:Calochortus subalpinus 3135.JPG|Subalpine mariposa lily (Calochortus subalpinus)
File:Xerophyllum tenax 3555.JPG|Bear grass (Xerophyllum tenax)
File:Speyeria mormonia 3312.jpg|Mormon fritillary (Speyeria mormonia)
Sources
- Pyle, Robert Michael, Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide, Houghton Mifflin, 1995, {{ISBN|0-395-44114-5}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160306002133/http://www.fseee.org/index.php/component/content/article/200396 Washington’s Dark Divide Roadless Area]
{{Commons}}
{{coord|46|19|06|N|121|45|39|W|display=title|type:landmark_region:US-WA_dim:50000}}
Category:Regions of Washington (state)
Category:Gifford Pinchot National Forest
{{Washington-geo-stub}}