Beacon Rock State Park
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Beacon Rock State Park
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 Beacon Rock |
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| location | Skamania County in Washington (USA) | |
| surface | 20 km² | |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 39 ' N , 122 ° 1' W | |
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| administration | Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission | |
Beacon Rock State Park is a 20 square kilometer state park in the US state of Washington . The park is located on the north bank of the Columbia in the Columbia River Gorge . The eponymous Beacon Rock is a 258 meter high volcanic remnant, the softer layers of which were washed away by the ice age floods of Columbia, so that only the rock remained on the shore.
history
The Indians call the rock Che-che-op-tin , the navel of the world. Beacon Rock , the rock was first named by the participants of the Lewis and Clark Expedition on October 31, 1805. Here they first noticed the influence of the tides of the Pacific in the Columbia River. In 1811 Alexander Ross , a fur trader in the service of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company , named the rock Inoshoack Castle . He kept this name until the United States Board on Geographic Names renamed the rock back to Beacon Rock. Henry J. Biddle bought the rock with the intention of developing it. A path to the summit was completed in 1915 and his heirs bequeathed the rock to Washington State in 1935. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed the area as a state park.
Tourist use
The state park has a large campground. Beacon Rock itself is a popular climbing destination, the summit of which can also be reached via a 1.5-kilometer hiking trail. The view from the summit offers overwhelming panoramas over the Columbia Gorge. In addition, the park covers almost 3 kilometers of shoreline along the Columbia River with boat mooring and fishing spots. The hinterland includes wooded hills, the highest elevation of which is the 745 meter high Hamilton Mountain and through which over 30 kilometers of trails for hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders lead.
literature
- Marge Mueller, Ted Mueller: Washington State Parks: a Complete Recreation Guide. Mountaineers Books 2004, ISBN 0-89886-642-1
