Rattlesnake Mountain, Benton County, Washington
Encyclopedia
Rattlesnake Mountain is a 3,527 ft (1,060 m) windswept treeless sub-alpine ridge overlooking the Hanford nuclear site
. Parts of the Western slope are privately owned ranchland, while the Eastern slope is under the federal protection of the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve
, a unit of the Hanford Reach National Monument
, managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
.
Rattlesnake Mountain is often described as the tallest treeless mountain in the world, but the claim that this appears to be without foundation appears itself to be without foundation. The highest winds recorded on Rattlesnake were around 150 mph (241 kilometers per hour).
during the Missoula Floods
, as Rattlesnake would have been one of the few mountains not completely inundated by flood waters reaching depths of 1200 ft (366 m). Geologists have found glacial erratics on Rattlesnake at heights up to this level. However, there is scant evidence placing human settlements in the area at the time of the floods, 12 to 13 thousand years ago. Lalíik is held sacred by native peoples
of the Columbia Plateau, including the Nez Perce, Umatilla
, Wanapum
, Cayuse
, Walla Walla
, and Yakama, and remains a spiritual epicenter to this day.
In 1943, Rattlesnake Mountain was seized by the United States government under eminent domain
and became a buffer zone for the nuclear project at the Hanford site. In 1956, the Army
installed a Nike Ajax missile base on the southeastern end of the ridge and maintained it until 1960, when it was closed.
at Hanford.
It was announced 14 March 2008 that the Department of Energy is not renewing the permit, license or easements for the observatory or any of the other entities that maintain communication equipment on the mountain. DOE instead intends to return the area to its natural conditions citing the cultural sensitivity to the area. The removal of the observatory from Rattlesnake Mountain began in the latter part of May, 2009. Most of the work, including the removal of the telescope itself, was completed in June of the same year. Presently, possible sites are being evaluated for relocation of the observatory.
Hanford Site
The Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government. The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works or HEW, Hanford Nuclear Reservation...
. Parts of the Western slope are privately owned ranchland, while the Eastern slope is under the federal protection of the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve
Arid Lands Ecology Reserve
The Arid Land Ecology Reserve is the largest tract of shrub-steppe ecosystem remaining in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory...
, a unit of the Hanford Reach National Monument
Hanford Reach National Monument
The Hanford Reach National Monument is a national monument in the U.S. State of Washington. It was created in 2000, mostly from the former security buffer surrounding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation...
, managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
.
Rattlesnake Mountain is often described as the tallest treeless mountain in the world, but the claim that this appears to be without foundation appears itself to be without foundation. The highest winds recorded on Rattlesnake were around 150 mph (241 kilometers per hour).
History
The Yakama Nation referred to Rattlesnake Mountain as Lalíik, meaning "land above the water". Some historians speculate that the origin of the name Lalíik refers to the inundation of the Columbia River PlateauColumbia River Plateau
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia River...
during the Missoula Floods
Missoula Floods
The Missoula Floods refer to the cataclysmic floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington and down the Columbia River Gorge at the end of the last ice age. The glacial flood events have been researched since the 1920s...
, as Rattlesnake would have been one of the few mountains not completely inundated by flood waters reaching depths of 1200 ft (366 m). Geologists have found glacial erratics on Rattlesnake at heights up to this level. However, there is scant evidence placing human settlements in the area at the time of the floods, 12 to 13 thousand years ago. Lalíik is held sacred by native peoples
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
of the Columbia Plateau, including the Nez Perce, Umatilla
Umatilla (tribe)
The Umatilla are a Sahaptin-speaking Native American group living on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, who traditionally inhabited the Columbia Plateau region of the northwestern United States....
, Wanapum
Wanapum
The Wanapum tribe of Native Americans formerly lived along the Columbia River from above Priest Rapids down to the mouth of the Snake River in what is now the U.S. state of Washington. About 60 Wanapum still live near the present day site of Priest Rapids Dam...
, Cayuse
Cayuse
The Cayuse are a Native American tribe in the state of Oregon in the United States. The Cayuse tribe shares a reservation in northeastern Oregon with the Umatilla and the Walla Walla tribes as part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation...
, Walla Walla
Walla Walla (tribe)
Walla Walla |Native American]] tribe of the northwestern United States. The reduplication of the word expresses the diminutive form. The name "Walla Walla" is translated several ways but most often as "many waters."...
, and Yakama, and remains a spiritual epicenter to this day.
In 1943, Rattlesnake Mountain was seized by the United States government under eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
and became a buffer zone for the nuclear project at the Hanford site. In 1956, the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
installed a Nike Ajax missile base on the southeastern end of the ridge and maintained it until 1960, when it was closed.
Rattlesnake Mountain Observatory
The Rattlesnake Mountain Observatory was established at the summit in 1966, utilizing some of the former missile base infrastructure. The observatory's main telescope was installed in 1971 and is a 32 inch (0.8-meter) telescope housed inside a 24 foot domed enclosure. This telescope is the largest permanently mounted telescope in Washington State. The telescope was used regularly through the early 1980s, but soon fell into disuse. Due to its location, renovations and upgrades were done to allow for remote control. Observatory operations are directed by a local nonprofit group founded by scientists and engineers from the Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryPacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is one of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, managed by the Department of Energy's Office of Science. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington....
at Hanford.
It was announced 14 March 2008 that the Department of Energy is not renewing the permit, license or easements for the observatory or any of the other entities that maintain communication equipment on the mountain. DOE instead intends to return the area to its natural conditions citing the cultural sensitivity to the area. The removal of the observatory from Rattlesnake Mountain began in the latter part of May, 2009. Most of the work, including the removal of the telescope itself, was completed in June of the same year. Presently, possible sites are being evaluated for relocation of the observatory.