Background info
Olympic National Park was first found in the 16th century by Greek navigator sailing for Spain Juan de Fuca.
The Olympic Peninsula was thought to be the Northwest passage at that time. However, upon further travel inland this theory was found to be false. The peninsula was then declared a National Park on June 29, 1938 in order to protect the herds of Roosevelt Elk in the area.
The Olympic Mountains
Location and size
Olympic National Park is located on Olympic Peninsula in the northwestern section of the state of Washington.
Olympic National Park is roughly the size of Rhode Island and it is home to three types of ecosystems: the glacier capped Olympic Mountain Range, over
60 miles of Pacific coastline and many acres of old-growth and temperate rain forest.
Black Bear cubs
The Olympic Marmot
Wildlife
In the park the wildlife is quite diverse due to multiple ecosystems.
Wildlife in the park includes:
- The Olympic Marmot
- The Roosevelt Elk (Olympic Nation Park is home of the largest unmanaged heard of Roosevelt Elk in the world)
- Black Bears
- Columbia Black-tailed deer (Believe it or not many hikers are seriously injured each year from getting hit by these deer's hooves)
- Cougars
- Assorted rodents and squirrels
- The Pileated Woodpecker (The largest woodpecker in the Northwest)
- and other various birds
Overhead view of a section of the parkActivities
There are many things to do at Olympic National Park and they all have to do with what season it is. For example in the winter you can go skiing for free at Hurricane Ridge(one part of the Olympic Mountain range). During the rest of the year you are able to go backpacking around the park or rafting on the Elwha and Hoh rivers.
