Cascade Range (redirected from Canadian Cascades)

Cascade Range, mountain chain, c.700 mi (1,130 km) long, extending S from British Columbia to N Calif., where it becomes the Sierra Nevada; it parallels the Coast Ranges, 100–150 mi (161–241 km) inland from the Pacific Ocean. Many of the range's highest peaks are volcanic cones, covered with snowfields and glaciers. Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980 in one of the greatest volcanic explosions in U.S. history, and Lassen Peak, 10,457 ft (3,187 m) high, in Lassen Volcanic National Park, is still active. Mt. Rainier (14,410 ft/4,392 m), in Mount Rainier National Park, is the highest point in the Cascades; Mt. Shasta and Mt. Hood are other prominent peaks. The Columbia River flows from east to west across the range. Of the many lakes in the Cascades, Crater Lake, in Crater Lake National Park, and Lake Chelan, in Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, are the most famous. Other federal lands in this popular recreation area are North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Cascade-Siskiyou and Lava Beds national monuments; national forests cover an extensive area.

Receiving more than 100 in. (254 cm) of precipitation annually, much of it as snow, the Cascades are a major source of water in the NW United States. Hydroelectricity is generated on the western slope; irrigation is used in the fertile eastern side valleys. Timber is the region's chief resource, but a growing concern for ecology and the environment has developed into a major political debate surrounding the trees. The

Cascade Tunnel, 8 mi (12.9 km), is one of the longest railroad tunnels in North America.

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Cascade Range

Mountain range, western U.S. A continuation of the Sierra Nevada, it extends north from Mount Lassen in northeastern California across Oregon and Washington for 700 mi (1,100 km). Its highest elevation is Mount Rainier. Some of the summits, including Mount St. Helens, have erupted in the recent past. The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the range in the Columbia River Gorge. Its northern continuation in British Columbia is known as the Coast Mountains. See also North Cascades National Park.

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Cascade Range

a chain of mountains in the US and Canada: a continuation of the Sierra Nevada range from N California through Oregon and Washington to British Columbia. Highest peak: Mount Rainier, 4392 m (14 408 ft.)

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Cascade Range 

a mountain range of the North American Cordillerra, located in the USA and Canada. Length, about 1,000 km; maximum altitude, 4, 392 m (Mount Rainier, a volcano).

The Cascade Range gets its name from the abundance of terrace-like waterfalls (cascades) on the Columbia, Fraser, Klamath, and other rivers that cut through the range. The range is formed by Mesozoic crystalline rocks covered by huge layers of Paleogene and Neocene lavas. Above this strongly dissected volcanic plateau, which is from 1, 800 to 2, 500 m high, rise isolated cones of volcanoes, such as Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, and Lassen Peak, with altitudes of 3, 000 to 4, 000 m and more. Most of the volcanoes are extinct, although their slopes abound in fumaroles and hot springs. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Mount Rainier and Lassen Peak showed their greatest volcanic activity. The volcanic peaks are covered with vast snow fields and glaciers. Dark coniferous forests grow on the humid western slopes of the range and pine trees on the dry eastern slopes; above 2, 800–3, 000 m, the forests give way to subalpine and alpine meadows. There are copper and gold deposits in the mountains. Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, and Lassen Volcanic national parks are located in the Cascade Range.

A. V. ANTIPOVA