Mount Deception (Washington)

At {{convert|7788|ft|m}} high Mount Deception is the second highest peak of the Olympic Mountains, after Mount Olympus.{{cite peakbagger|rid=1220|name=Olympic Mountains}} It is the highest peak of the eastern Olympics.{{cite peakware|2043|Mount Deception|2009-06-06}} Mount Deception's prominence is {{convert|4108|ft}}, making it the 17th most prominent peak in Washington.{{cite peakbagger|41307|Washington State Peaks with 2000 feet of Prominence}} Its nearest higher peak is Mount Olympus at {{convert|21.79|mi|km|abbr=on}} to the west.

Mount Deception is located in the northeast portion of the Olympics Mountains just northeast of Mount Mystery between Deception Creek and Royal Creek. The region is known as Royal Basin and includes the upper reaches of Royal Creek. Mount Deception lies at the head of Royal Basin.{{cite web |title= Royal Basin Wilderness Destination |publisher= National Park Service |url= http://home.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/upload/droyal.pdf |accessdate= 2009-06-06 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120306003914/http://home.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/upload/droyal.pdf |archive-date= 2012-03-06 |url-status= dead }} This location puts it in the rain shadow of the Olympics, resulting in far less precipitation than Mount Olympus and the western Olympics receive. Although Mount Deception is the highest peak in the eastern Olympics, it is not visible from Seattle.

File:Mount Deception sunrise.jpg

Radiating northward from the shoulders of Mount Deception are Gilhooley Tower, The Needles, Mount Clark ({{convert|7528|ft|0|disp=or|abbr=on}}), Mount Walkinshaw ({{convert|7378|ft|0|disp=or|abbr=on}}), and the northeasterly running spur known as Gray Wolf Ridge. To the east and south are Mount Fricaba, Hal Foss Peak, Mount Mystery, and Little Mystery. Two small glaciers hug the mountain's north-facing basalt slopes.USGS topographic maps

Mount Deception sits on the boundary between the drainage basins of the Dungeness River, to the north, and the Dosewallips River, to the south and east. Deception Creek, a tributary of the Dosewallips River, drains the southern slope of Mount Deception. Gray Wolf Pass is located about {{convert|1|mi}} west of Mount Deception. The pass connects the Dungeness and Dosewallips drainage basins.

Mount Deception had been given the name Mount Holmes by the Seattle Press Expedition in honor of John H. Holmes of the Boston Herald. Later, G.A. Whitehead of the U.S. Forest Service renamed it Mount Deception due to the difficulty mountaineers had in locating climbing routes on the often cloud-covered peak.

File:The Needles from Mount Deception.jpg centered]]

Unlike the peaks of Gray Wolf Ridge, which are scalable for fit and determined day hikers, mountaineering skills are necessary for Mount Deception itself. While not a particularly technical climb, it is steep and exposed. If a climber falls and does not arrest immediately, loose rock and rotten snow may make it difficult to stop falling for some distance. Fatalities have occurred on Mount Deception and the National Park Service recommends climbers be experienced in self-arrest skills, rock climbing, and route-finding.{{cite web |title= Climbing in the Olympic Wilderness |publisher= National Park Service |url= http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/wilderness-climbing.htm |accessdate= 2009-06-06}}

The adjacent Needles are typically regarded as providing better, and somewhat more difficult, mountaineering objectives in the Royal Basin area.

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Deception is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | pages = 1633–1644 | issn = 1027-5606}} Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel northeast toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Olympic Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall (Orographic lift). As a result, the Olympics experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but, due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer. In terms of favorable weather, the best months for climbing are June through September.

{{Weather box

|location = Mount Deception 47.8242 N, 123.2360 W, Elevation: {{cvt|6969|ft}} (1991–2020 normals)

|single line = y

|Jan high F = 28.1

|Feb high F = 28.4

|Mar high F = 30.7

|Apr high F = 35.3

|May high F = 42.5

|Jun high F = 47.6

|Jul high F = 56.2

|Aug high F = 57.1

|Sep high F = 52.0

|Oct high F = 41.0

|Nov high F = 31.2

|Dec high F = 26.7

|Jan mean F = 23.3

|Feb mean F = 22.5

|Mar mean F = 23.6

|Apr mean F = 27.3

|May mean F = 34.2

|Jun mean F = 39.2

|Jul mean F = 46.9

|Aug mean F = 47.8

|Sep mean F = 43.4

|Oct mean F = 34.3

|Nov mean F = 26.2

|Dec mean F = 22.2

|Jan low F = 18.5

|Feb low F = 16.7

|Mar low F = 16.5

|Apr low F = 19.3

|May low F = 25.8

|Jun low F = 30.8

|Jul low F = 37.6

|Aug low F = 38.5

|Sep low F = 34.7

|Oct low F = 27.6

|Nov low F = 21.1

|Dec low F = 17.7

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 13.64

|Feb precipitation inch = 9.69

|Mar precipitation inch = 10.31

|Apr precipitation inch = 6.67

|May precipitation inch = 3.94

|Jun precipitation inch = 2.99

|Jul precipitation inch = 1.52

|Aug precipitation inch = 1.76

|Sep precipitation inch = 2.96

|Oct precipitation inch = 8.30

|Nov precipitation inch = 13.60

|Dec precipitation inch = 15.68

|source=PRISM Climate Group{{cite web

|url= http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/

|title= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University

|publisher= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University

|access-date= December 11, 2023

|quote= To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button.}}

}}

The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust.{{cite book|last=Alt|first=D.D.|author2=Hyndman, D.W.|year=1984|title=Roadside Geology of Washington|pages=249–259|isbn=0-87842-160-2}} The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion caused by glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.

{{Portal|Mountains}}

• Olympic Mountains
• Geology of the Pacific Northwest
• Geography of Washington (state)
• List of mountains of the United States
• List of mountains by elevation

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite summitpost|151109|Mount Deception}}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/olym |title=Olympic National Park |publisher=National Park Service}}
• Mount Deception weather: [https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Deception/forecasts/2374 Mountain Forecast]
• Mt. Deception photo: [https://www.flickr.com/photos/145888342@N06/46106575674/in/photolist-d9ZUGh-ffS7p5-2dP9xU5-dhAkeF-bMTE7n-hfj1bu-ffS7sq-e4PPX4-ateGSR-VScSjL-2dsHskS-2dfhfBU-TA275h-av6Ygq-X96j9T-o2MZda-HhtEUR-GShk7f-HhtHJt-WxypLL-X8LFg9-Gn9tsr-brNzyg-buU4iw-56YBtx-RGmsw3-GNdFVN-ocJEHx-8ocJZX-9dCV8n-e4B9DA-28L1zyv-Gn1ai7-VLrvEW-bHNQhi-pCCQyp-27hHd2k-H99DJY-575Ny9-Hbsyh6-Hbto6H-a6XYLm-GmZ5h7-HeyxMo-HhuF96-2532d39-akUVEo-GShebh-TdUyyS-GShizC Flickr]

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Category:Mountains of Washington (state)

Category:Olympic Mountains

Category:Mountains of Jefferson County, Washington

Category:Landforms of Olympic National Park