Mazama, Washington
Mazama (population 200) is a small village located in the Methow Valley of Washington, on the leeward side of North Cascades National Park. It is located along the North Cascades Highway (Highway 20), 14 mi (23 km) northwest of Winthrop and about 28 mi (45 km) south of the Canadian border. Mazama's town center elevation is 2,106 ft (642 m), and it is located 2.7 mi (4.3 km) south of and 4,895 feet (1,492 m) below Goat Peak.[1][2]
Mazama boomed as the departure point for mining towns in the rugged Harts Pass area like Barron, Chancellor, and Robinson. Recently considered little more than a crossroads, Mazama is slowly growing to include three lodging options,[3] a cafe (Jack's Hut), a general store & gas station, and two restaurants. It has been a destination for summer weddings, rock climbing, mountaineering, and winter sports with options for heli-skiing, back-country and cross country skiing. It is home to one of the world's longest cross-country skiing trails, stretching for 120 miles (190 km) and running through the town itself.
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Name History [edit]
In the 19th century the town was called "Goat Creek". When the former post office was secured in 1899, the settlers chose a name they thought was Greek for "mountain goat". They later discovered that they had looked in the wrong dictionary and, according to Edmond S. Meany, the meaning of "Mazama" was "mountain goat" in Spanish, not Greek.[4] Mazama is a genus of deer (family Cervidae) comprising the Brockets, medium to small deer that are found in the Americas. The genus name Mazama is derived from Nahuatl mazame, the plural of mazatl "deer."
Ecology [edit]
Forests of native Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine are widespread in Mazama and the surrounding wilderness. Aspen and Cottonwood become increasingly common along creeks and rivers.
Climate [edit]
Climate is arid with warm summers and cold winters and precipitation falling primarily as snow in the months of November through February. Washington's record cold temperatures were measured in Mazama and Winthrop: −48 °F (−44 °C) on December 30, 1968.[5]
| Climate data for Mazama, Washington | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 58 (14) |
55 (13) |
74 (23) |
90 (32) |
97 (36) |
98 (37) |
103 (39) |
103 (39) |
101 (38) |
84 (29) |
65 (18) |
51 (11) |
103 (39) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 28.7 (−1.8) |
36.4 (2.4) |
46.1 (7.8) |
57.3 (14.1) |
66.8 (19.3) |
74.2 (23.4) |
82.5 (28.1) |
82.5 (28.1) |
73.2 (22.9) |
56.8 (13.8) |
37.7 (3.2) |
27.7 (−2.4) |
55.9 (13.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 21.1 (−6.1) |
27.2 (−2.7) |
35.5 (1.9) |
44.5 (6.9) |
53.2 (11.8) |
60.5 (15.8) |
67.1 (19.5) |
66.8 (19.3) |
57.6 (14.2) |
44.4 (6.9) |
30.7 (−0.7) |
21.0 (−6.1) |
44.1 (6.7) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 13.5 (−10.3) |
17.9 (−7.8) |
24.8 (−4) |
31.4 (−0.3) |
39.5 (4.2) |
46.7 (8.2) |
51.8 (11) |
51.0 (10.6) |
42.1 (5.6) |
31.9 (−0.1) |
23.7 (−4.6) |
14.3 (−9.8) |
32.4 (0.2) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −32 (−36) |
−21 (−29) |
−8 (−22) |
10 (−12) |
20 (−7) |
26 (−3) |
27 (−3) |
32 (0) |
19 (−7) |
8 (−13) |
−14 (−26) |
−48 (−44) |
−48 (−44) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 3.90 (99.1) |
2.32 (58.9) |
1.78 (45.2) |
1.02 (25.9) |
1.01 (25.7) |
1.03 (26.2) |
0.67 (17) |
0.68 (17.3) |
0.80 (20.3) |
1.64 (41.7) |
3.32 (84.3) |
4.05 (102.9) |
22.22 (564.4) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 35.6 (90.4) |
19.0 (48.3) |
8.1 (20.6) |
0.3 (0.8) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1.8 (4.6) |
16.7 (42.4) |
39.4 (100.1) |
120.8 (306.8) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 14 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 106 |
| Source: WRCC(normals 1950-2012)[6] | |||||||||||||
References [edit]
- ^ "Mazama". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. 1979-09-10. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
- ^ "Goat Peak". ListsOfJohn.com. Retrieved 2012-11-14.
- ^ http://www.mazama.org/
- ^ Meany, Edmond S. (1920). "Origin of Washington Geographic Names". The Washington Historical Quarterly (Washington University State Historical Society) XI: 133. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ "United States Extreme Record Temperatures & Differences". Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ "General Climate Summary Tables". Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
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Coordinates: 48°35′37″N 120°24′26″W / 48.59368°N 120.40719°W
