Mazama (Washington)

Mazama
Small meadow near the Mazama huts
Location in Washington
Mazama
Basic data
State :	United States
State :	Washington
County :	Okanogan County
Coordinates :	48 ° 36 ′  N , 120 ° 24 ′  W Coordinates: 48 ° 36 ′  N , 120 ° 24 ′  W
Time zone :	Pacific ( UTC − 8 / −7 )
Residents :	200 (as of:)
Height :	642 m
GNIS ID :	1522828

Deer in Mazama on the last section of the Spokane Gulch Trail , looking towards the Mazama Store .

Mazama ( məˈzæmə ) is an unincorporated area in Okanogan County in the Methow River Valley in Washington State on the eastern slopes of the Northern Cascades and the North Cascades National Park . It extends along Washington State Route 20 ("North Cascades Highway"), about 23 km northwest of Winthrop and about 45 km south of the border between Canada and the United States . Mazama's center is 642 m high and about 4.3 km south of Goat Peak .

Founded around the beginning of the 20th century, Mazama experienced an upswing as a starting point for the mining towns of Barron, Chancellor and Robinson in the rugged Harts Pass area. Currently consisting of little more than an intersection, Mazama is slowly growing around various holiday homes, a shop, an outdoor shop, a gas station, a café and three restaurants. Mazama has become a destination for summer wedding celebrations, rock climbers and winter sports enthusiasts who can go heli-skiing , deep snow skiing and cross-country skiing from there. One of the longest ski hiking trails in the world can be found here, stretching over 190 km and leading through the settlement.

Wildflowers above Mazama on the Spokane Gulch Trail .

history

In the 19th century the place was known as "Goat Creek", named after a creek at the foot of the nearby Goat Peak (then called Goat Mountain ). When the former post office was established in 1899, the settlers chose what they believed to be the Greek equivalent of "Mountain Goat". They later realized that they had mistakenly used the wrong dictionary: According to Edmond S. Meany, the equivalent of “Mazama” for “Mountain Goat” did not come from Greek, but from Spanish. Mazama is a genus of deer (family Cervidae ), the spit deer , small to medium-sized deer that are native to North and South America. The generic name Mazama is derived from the Nahuatl word mazame, the plural of mazatl ("deer").

View from the 11-degree Prime Rib climbing path over the Methow River Valley .

The locals emphasize the name like a rhyme with "Alabama": mə.ˈzæm.ə . It has nothing to do with Mount Mazama in Oregon, which is more broadly emphasized on the central vowel: mə.ˈzɑː.mə .

nature

The Methow River in Mazama

The Methow River flows immediately south of Mazama; here the chinook salmon has a spawning habitat.

Indigenous Douglas fir and yellow pine forests are widespread in Mazama and the surrounding area. Aspens and black poplars are becoming increasingly common along the streams and rivers.

Over 70 species of mammals are originally native to the area. This includes the Northern Pocket Rat , but ironically, not the Mazama Pocket Rat .

climate

Mazama has a humid continental climate ("Dsb" according to the Köppen and Geiger climate classification ) with warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. It lies on the leeward side of the Northern Cascade Range, which absorbs much of the rainfall that comes in from the Pacific due to westerly winds . The effect of this rain shadow increases with the distance from the main ridge of the cascade: the arid Winthrop , 22.5 km down the valley, reaches only about half of the rainfall in Mazama. Mazama's relatively heavy snowfall, together with the short winter days, inspired the first settlers to be nicknamed "Early Winters".

Washington's cold record was recorded in both Mazama and Winthrop: On December 30, 1968, the temperature was −44 ° C.

Mazama, Washington
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     290   14th -36     222   13 -29     239   23 -22     193   32 -12     150   36 -7     134   39 -3     59   39 -3     72   39 0     119   38 -7     201   29 -13     303   18th -26     305   11 -44 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: WRCC (normals 1950–2012)

Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Mazama, Washington Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 14.44 12.78 23.33 32.22 36.11 39.44 39.44 39.44 38.33 28.89 18.33 10.56 O 27.8 Min. Temperature (° C) -35.56 -29.44 -22.22 -12.22 -6.67 -3.33 -2.78 0.00 -7.22 -13.33 -25.56 -44.44 O −16.9 Temperature (° C) -6.06 -2.69 1.92 6.86 11.75 15.81 19.53 19.31 14.25 6.86 -0.72 -6.11 O 6.8 Precipitation ( mm ) 289.81 222.00 239.27 192.53 150.37 133.60 59.44 71.88 118.62 200.91 303.28 304.80 Σ 2,286.51 Rainy days ( d ) 14th 11 9 7th 7th 6th 5 5 5 9 13 15th Σ 106 Source: WRCC (normals 1950–2012)

An average of 3,040.38 mm of snow falls in Mazama, with an average of more than 25.4 mm (1 ") of snow on 136 days. The highest snow depth ever recorded on January 1, 1997 was 1,574.8 mm.

geology

According to the Leiko classification, the soils are typically stony, ash-colored, sandy loams. The subsoil in the area consists of Cretaceous andesites and the Quaternary alluvial alluvial sands, which are widespread in the valley.

tourism

The Goat Wall and other nearby rocks have drawn many rock climbers to the small town. The Goat Wall is just under 6,000 feet and is considered one of the best high grade sport climbing areas in Washington. There are over 70 established routes in the Mazama area, the difficulty levels of which vary from 5.6 to 5.13 according to the Yosemite Decimal System ; there are routes between the I. and XII. Climbing degree.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Bob Bolton, Fred Beavon: Washington Placenames Pronunciation . County Highpointers Association. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
2. ^ Mazama ( English ) In: Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved November 15, 2012.
3. ↑ Goat Peak . Retrieved November 14, 2012.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Jerry Smith: Boom Towns & Relic Hunters of Washington State . Classic Day Publishing, Seattle, WA 2011, ISBN 978-1-59849-120-3 , p. 52.
5. ↑ http://www.mazama.org/
6. ^ Goat's Beard Mountain Supplies . Retrieved June 25, 2013.
7. ^ Edmond S. Meany: Origin of Washington Geographic Names . In: Washington University State Historical Society (Ed.): The Washington Historical Quarterly . XI, 1920, p. 133. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
8. ↑ Upper Columbia River Steelhead and Spring Chinook Salmon Biological Requirements Committee: Upper Columbia River Steelhead and Spring Chinook Salmon Population Structure and Biological Requirements (PDF) National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center. March 2001. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 7, 2013. 
9. ^ Mammals of the Methow Watershed (PDF) The Methow Naturalist. 2010. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 7, 2013.  
10. ↑ United States Extreme Record Temperatures & Differences . Retrieved November 22, 2008.
11. ^ General Climate Summary Tables . Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
12. ↑ Soil Survey of Okanogan National Forest Area, Washington (PDF) United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service .. 2008. Archived from the original on February 24, 2013. Information: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 7, 2013.  
13. ↑ Leiko series . Retrieved July 7, 2013.
14. ↑ Soil Survey of Okanogan National Forest Area, Washington (PDF) United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service .. 2008. Archived from the original on February 24, 2013. Information: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 7, 2013.  
15. ^ Mazama climbing . Retrieved July 3, 2015.