Snowgrass Mountain
Snowgrass Mountain
Highest point
Elevation	7,999 ft (2,438 m)[1]
Prominence	445 ft (136 m)[1]
Parent peak	Big Chiwaukum (8,098 ft)[1]
Isolation	1.28 mi (2.06 km)[1]
Coordinates	47°41′02″N 120°55′58″W / 47.683861°N 120.932759°W / 47.683861; -120.932759[2]
Geography
Snowgrass Mountain Location in Washington Show map of Washington (state) Snowgrass Mountain Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Chelan
Protected area	Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Parent range	Chiwaukum Mountains Wenatchee Mountains Cascade Range
Topo map	USGS Chiwaukum Mountains
Geology
Rock age	Late Cretaceous[3]
Rock type	Schist[3]
Climbing
First ascent	1914[4]
Easiest route	Scrambling

Snowgrass Mountain is a 7,999-foot (2,438-metre) mountain summit located in Chelan County of Washington state.^[5] Snowgrass Mountain is situated northeast of Frosty Pass and within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Snowgrass Mountain is the second-highest peak in the Chiwaukum Mountains which are a subrange of the Cascade Range.^[2] The nearest higher neighbor is Big Chiwaukum, 1.23 mi (1.98 km) to the north.^[2] Precipitation runoff from Snowgrass drains into tributaries of the Wenatchee River.

Most weather fronts originating in the Pacific Ocean travel east toward the Cascade Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the Cascades. As a result, the Cascades experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. 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 Alpine Lakes Wilderness features some of the most rugged topography in the Cascade Range with craggy peaks and ridges, deep glacial valleys, and granite walls spotted with over 700 mountain lakes.^[6] Geological events occurring many years ago created the diverse topography and drastic elevation changes over the Cascade Range leading to the various climate differences.

Snowgrass Mountain is composed of schist, part of the Nason terrane laid down 210 million years ago.^[7] During the Pleistocene period dating back over two million years ago, glaciation advancing and retreating repeatedly scoured the landscape leaving deposits of rock debris.^[8] The last glacial retreat in the Alpine Lakes area began about 14,000 years ago and was north of the Canada–US border by 10,000 years ago.^[8] The U-shaped cross section of the river valleys is a result of that recent glaciation. Uplift and faulting in combination with glaciation have been the dominant processes which have created the tall peaks and deep valleys of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area.

• List of peaks of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

• Weather forecast: Snowgrass Mountain
• Alpine Lakes Wilderness (Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest) U.S. Forest Service