North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than 500,000 acres (200,000 ha), it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Park consists of a northern and southern section, bisected by the Skagit River that flows through the reservoirs of Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area lies on the southern border of the south unit of the park. In addition to the two national recreation areas, other protected lands including several national forests and wilderness areas, as well as Canadian provincial parks in British Columbia, nearly surround the park. North Cascades National Park features the rugged mountain peaks of the North Cascades Range, the most expansive glacial system in the contiguous United States, the headwaters of numerous waterways, and vast forests with the highest degree of flora biodiversity of any American national park.
Cascade Pass and Pelton Basin
Microblades excavated from Cascades Pass; the two on the right were crafted from quartz.
Goode Mountain is the tallest mountain in the park.
Ross Dam in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area
The Skagit River is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000 hectares) of the Cascade Range along the northern end of Puget Sound and flows into the sound.
Gorge Lake portion of the Skagit River in Washington
Chinook salmon
The Skagit River Delta is an important winter habitat for snow geese (pictured) and trumpeter swans
The Skagit River near Marblemount, Washington