The Cascade Mountain Range is the backbone of Washington, bisecting the state into the moist, densely-forested regions of the Pacific Coast and Puget Sound, and the high desert country of eastern Washington. Cascade Mountain peaks soar to an average height of 6,000 to 8,000 feet; Mount Rainier, at 14,410 feet, is the spectacular crown of this range. The west slope of the Cascades is characterized by dense forests of Douglas-fir and western hemlock. The east slope, in the ranched of Pacific Ocean storms, is known for dry Ponderosa pine forests, native shrub-steppe vegetation, and basaltic rock formations.

Wildlife of the Cascade Mountains is magnificent and diverse. The west slope is known for large populations of black-tailed deer, and other forest-dependent mammals and bird species. The eastern slope, steeper and much more open, is home to Rocky Mountain elk, mule deer, and many transitional species found in both mountainous and high desert ecosystems.