OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS

segment of the Pacific mountain system of western North America. They extend across the Olympic Peninsula south of the Juan de Fuca Strait and west of Puget Sound in northwestern Washington, U.S. Several peaks exceed 7,000 feet (2,100 m), including Mounts Anderson, Deception, and Olympus (7,965 feet ; the highest). The range holds about 60 glaciers. The prevailing westerly wind off the Pacific Ocean produces heavy annual precipitation (more than 140 inches [3,550 mm] in places), resulting in the formation of picturesque rainforests dominated by Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, western red cedar, and hemlock. Some trees reach heights of nearly 300 feet (90 m) and diameters of 8 feet (2.5 m). The Spanish navigator Juan Prez sighted the mountains in 1774. John Meares, an English voyager, named the highest peak in 1788 because it appeared, like the Greek Mount Olympus, to be a fit home for the gods. The mountains lie within the Olympic National Park (created 1938) and Forest and are set aside for recreation and for conservation of wildlife, including the rare Roosevelt elk, and timber.