CHS 2 Hike - Cutthroat Pass

1. Accretion: Gifts from foreign lands – BS Baja and Foreign Terranes

“France gave us the Statue of Liberty, but Mexico gave us Mt. Stuart.”

Washington State was not formed all at once, but assembled over hundreds of millions of years through a process called accretion. Large portions of the state were once part of distant land masses that migrated across the ocean before colliding with and attaching to North America. These exotic terranes consist of oceanic crust, volcanic islands, and even fragments of ancient seafloors. This hike will take us through a region where these foreign terranes are exposed, revealing the deep history of the Pacific Northwest’s continental growth.

August Hike: Cutthroat Pass - 9.8 miles (+5), 2007 ft gain

Cutthroat Pass provides a stunning vantage point over the North Cascades, a region built from accreted terranes. The surrounding mountains are composed of different rock formations that originated as seafloor sediments, volcanic island arcs, and oceanic crust, all of which were transported and fused onto the North American continent. The hike will highlight how these terranes have been uplifted and deformed over time, creating the rugged peaks and valleys of the Cascades.

Additional information on other geology themed hikes can be viewed here: CHS 2025 Hiking through Deep Time - https://tinyurl.com/mr2su9jb

TBD