The Alpine Lakes Region consists of lands within King, Snohomish, Chelan and Yakima Counties which border the expansive Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Bordered on the west by Puget Sound, the east by Highway 97, the north by the Monte Cristo Peaks and the south by Highway 410, the Alpine Lakes Region has one of the highest concentrations of waterfalls in the state.
The geology of the region is punctuated by the heavily glaciated landscape of the central plateau of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Hundreds of lakes and tarns dot the granite landscape, streams chaining many together forming what are known as Paternoster Lakes. In many cases, glacial activity has scoured steps in the valleys which these lakes occupy, and as the outlets flow down the valley, waterfalls occur as the water streams from one lake to the next. The high relief of the area coupled with these lake formations and the glacial history of the area results in many large waterfalls occurring in the area. Most of the largest falls in the region occur in the backcountry of the Wilderness Area itself, at least a dozen reaching heights over 1000 feet tall. |
