Manastash Ridge
Encyclopedia
Anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
ridge
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
located in central Washington state in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Manastash Ridge runs mostly west-to-east in Kittitas and Yakima
Yakima County, Washington
Yakima County is the second largest county by area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Yakama tribe of Native Americans. In the 2010 census, its population was 243,231...
counties, for approximately 50 miles. The ridge is part of the Yakima Fold Belt of east-tending long ridges formed by the folding of Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
Columbia River basalt flows
Columbia River Basalt Group
The Columbia River Basalt Group is a large igneous province that lies across parts of the Western United States. It is found in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and California...
.
The highest point in Manastash Ridge is Manastash Peak at 6335 feet (1,930.9 m), located 22.4 miles (36 km) west of Ellensburg, Washington
Ellensburg, Washington
Ellensburg is a city in, and the county seat of, Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 18,174 at the 2010 census. The population was 18,250 at 2011 Estimate from Office of Financial Management. Ellensburg is located just east of the Cascade Range on I-90 and is known as the...
. Interstate 82
Interstate 82
Interstate 82 is a Interstate Highway that extends from I-90 in Ellensburg, Washington to I-84 near Umatilla, Oregon in the United States. In the state of Washington, it serves the cities of Ellensburg, Yakima, and the Tri Cities , and in Oregon, it serves Umatilla and Hermiston...
crosses through the eastern portion of the ridge; the Manastash Ridge Summit is located at milepost 7 of the interstate (south of Ellensburg) or about 24 miles (38.6 km) north of Yakima, Washington
Yakima, Washington
Yakima is an American city southeast of Mount Rainier National Park and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the eighth largest city by population in the state itself. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,196 and a metropolitan population of...
at an elevation of 2672 feet (814.4 m).
In addition to Manastash Peak, Manastash Ridge includes the peaks of Quartz Mountain (6289 feet (1,916.9 m)), Mount Clifty (6243 feet (1,902.9 m)), and Lookout Mountain (6188 feet (1,886.1 m)). The astronomy department of the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
maintains the Manastash Ridge Observatory
Manastash Ridge Observatory
The Manastash Ridge Observatory is an astronomical observatory built in 1972 by the University of Washington. The observatory is approximately and includes a 30" Boller and Chivens cassegrain telescope. The observatory is mostly used by undergraduate students for basic observational skills...
, located about 9 miles (14.5 km) west-southwest of Ellensburg.
See also
- Rattlesnake HillsRattlesnake HillsThe Rattlesnake Hills is a 16 mile long anticline mountain ridge in Yakima County and Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. Also known as Rattlesnake Mountain and Rattlesnake Ridge, it should not be confused with the much smaller Rattlesnake Ridge located near the west end of Ahtanum Ridge...
- Ahtanum RidgeAhtanum RidgeAhtanum Ridge is a long anticline mountain ridge in Yakima County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located just south of the city of Yakima....
- Umtanum RidgeUmtanum RidgeUmtanum Ridge is a long anticline mountain ridge in Yakima County and Kittitas County in the U.S. state of Washington. It runs for approximately 55 miles east-southeast from the Cascade Range, through the Yakima Training Center to the edge of the Columbia River at Priest Rapids Dam and Hanford Reach...
- Horse Heaven HillsHorse Heaven HillsThe Horse Heaven Hills are a long range of high, rolling hills in Klickitat, Yakima, and Benton counties in Washington State located east of Satus Creek and west of the Columbia River between the Yakima River and the Wallula Gap. The hills are an anticline ridge in the Yakima fold belt formed by...
- Olympic-Wallowa LineamentOlympic-Wallowa LineamentThe Olympic-Wallowa lineament – first reported by cartographer Erwin Raisz in 1945 on a relief map of the continental United States – is a physiographic feature of unknown origin in the state of Washington running approximately from the town of Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula...
- Mel's HoleMel's HoleMel's Hole is a supposed geographic anomaly discovered by Mel Waters on his land near Ellensburg, Washington. Waters claimed that he lived in or near Manastash Ridge, Washington, about nine miles due west of Ellensburg, though later investigation revealed that no such person was listed as a resident...