Cat Peak
Cat Peak is a mountain summit located within Olympic National Park in Clallam County of Washington state. Description. Set within the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness, Cat Peak is the westernmost peak of the Bailey Range, which is a subrange of the Olympic Mountains. With clear weather, the mountain can be seen by hikers from High Divide or Hurricane Hill. The nearest higher neighbor is Mount Carrie to the east-southeast, and Mount Olympus rises to the south. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north into Cat Creek which is a tributary of the Elwha River, and south into  the Hoh River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 4,400 feet (1,340 m) above the Hoh River in approximately one mile. History. The mountain's name has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The peak is named in association with Cat Creek, which heads on the peak. The creek was christened "Wildcat Creek" by the 1889–90 Seattle Press Expedition because an expedition member killed a bobcat on February 28, 1890, where the creek joins the Elwha River. Climate. Based on the Köppen climate classification, Cat Peak is located in the marine west coast  climate zone of western North America. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Olympic Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall (Orographic lift). As a result, the Olympics experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but, due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer. The months June through  October offer the most favorable weather for viewing and climbing. Geology. The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust. The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.