The Cascade Range is part of a vast mountain chain that spans for over 500 miles, from Mount Shasta, in northern California to British Columbia in the north. The beautiful North Cascade Range, located in northwestern Washington State, has some of the most scenic, and geologically complex mountains in the United States.

Where is the Cascade Range found and what formed these mountains?

The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades.

Where did the Cascade Mountains form?

Fossil and rock magnetism studies indicate that the North Cascades terranes were formed thousands of miles south in the Pacific Ocean. Attached to slowly moving plates of oceanic rock, they drifted northward merging together about 90 million years ago.