NORTHWEST WONDERLAND

[Music] there was a time millions of years ago when there were no mountains in the pacific northwest a time when the wide pacific rolled unchecked across all of western america a time when today's evergreen empire was submerged in the depths of the sea then more slowly than the mind of man can comprehend new land began to rise above the tide pushing back the sea from alaska to the tip of south america upfolding perhaps a single inch each passing hundred years then titanic pressures deep inside the earth fractured this foundation liquid rocks spread layer upon layer across 200 000 square miles of land [Music] along the crest of this great new lava dike gigantic explosions ushered in the age of volcanic fire clouds of ash and cinders filled the skies settled over the land covered it hundreds of feet thick with future fertile soil throughout the ensuing centuries a chain of fire mountains blazed like giant beacons along the newborn cascade crest then the age of fire gave way to the age of ice stupendous mile thick glaciers gouged out deep valleys and lake beds ground the volcanic rock to powder carried it in silt-laden rivers down to the lower elevations where in time it gave a foothold to the forests of the evergreen empire of today [Music] [Applause] me throughout history mountains have been the shapers of man's destiny and more than any other single factor the cascade mountains determined man's role in the northwest scheme of things from virtually every point in oregon or washington you can lift your eyes and see a shining mountain from the farms and flower fields of central washington or from the rangelands out in the inland empire from the shipyards along the willamette and the defense plants along puget sound [Music] from the northwest wonderland's rich fruit-laden valleys you can lift your eyes and your spirits by looking at the mountains [Music] but beyond their inspirational value the mountains of the northwest play a dominant role in shaping the everyday lives of the people rising like a two-mile ice-capped wall they intercept and chill the warm winds blowing in from the pacific the result is summer rain to nourish farms capable of feeding 6 million people [Music] winter snows that reach 50 feet along the cascade crests the heaviest snowfall in the nation the glowing summer sun is not hot enough to melt all this prodigious winter snow and so for centuries a surplus has been [Music] accumulating thus on the collective cascade summits preserved in solid form the captured moisture of a thousand storm locked winters is gradually released by the radiant summer sun more water descends from the crest of these mountains than from any other area of our nation mount hood's eight melting glaciers alone furnish nearly 350 000 gallons of water per minute 490 million gallons every day to quench the thirst and satisfy the domestic needs and revive the energies of half a million people [Music] in washington the iced cat crown of mount rainier holds 40 square miles of ice and snow the largest single peak glacial system in the continental united states [Music] each of the other snow sentinels wears a similar glacial crown mount baker the great white watcher of the north mount saint helens youngest and most shapely of northwest volcanoes beautiful maiden of indian legend massive mount adams sometimes called rainier's twin glacier peak in the center of an area packed solid with hundreds of snow mantled mountains this one area alone probably contains three times as many glaciers as all the other mountain ranges in america [Music] catching storing and releasing billions of tons of snow water season after season the mountains perform a vital function in the life-sustaining cosmic cycle nourished by this water as it seeps back to the sea are some of the most majestic trees on the face of the earth half the commercial timber in the united states stands west of the cascades from the crest of mount rainier you can see one third of our nation's timber supply trees 15 stories tall and straight as a sun beam from crown to forest floor forest monarchs that were full grown and winging down seeds when magellan sailed around the globe it is estimated that almost a thousand billion board feet of lumber stand in northwest forests today a mill like this one if it sawed a million feet a day could work 3 000 years before it reduced these forests to lumber and in the end except for a clearing right next to the mill the self-sustaining forest would still be as luxuriant as it was in the beginning [Music] and so as long as the moist winds blow in from the pacific as long as snow falls on the cascade crests as long as melt water seeps back through the forest floor to the sea there will be profitable healthful work in the woods for hundreds of thousands of northwest people [Music] the snow fields constitute the world's greatest single source of hydroelectric power the forest acts as a giant sponge soaking up the sun melted snow releasing it drop by drop to recombine in countless streams and booklets rivulets and rivers on their tumultuous ways over pebbles and stones through rocky gorges and past giant power plants the rivers alone are capable of generating more than a third of the nation's total electric power in terms of better living for northwest people this means more heat and light more labor-saving appliances more conveniences and comforts better living at lower cost for power than any other region in the nation in a larger sense in terms of jobs and family security this electric power from year-round snows means a steadily expanding industrial economy with more factories bigger factories more steady jobs more permanent well-paid professions more opportunities for business and more assurance of a continuing prosperous future but aside from the economic contributions of the cascades to better living they also provide a wide variety of year-round recreation not only for the people who live in the northwest wonderland but for thousands of out-of-state visitors as well recreation means different things to different people to some it means whipping the white waters for that all-american gamester the mountain trout to others it means trophy hunting through telescopic sights or through telephoto lenses [Music] to the devotees of the pack board it means the feel of soft pine needles underfoot and the spell of far-off places in the soul to some it means the creek of saddle leather on a mountain trail [Music] and the twang of guitars around a campfire at night oh give me a home where the buffalo roam where the deer and the antelope play to those who prefer to rough it on upholstered seats recreation means the leisurely viewing of awe-inspiring scenery with cosmopolitan comforts after a tough day afield but whether the visitor comes to the mountains to sip iced tea or to use an ice axe he is certain to be enriched and rewarded by the experience thousands of woodland trails invite exploration some lead to unusual exciting places like the snouts of living glaciers some lead to caves hollowed out of iridescent ice or cast in volcanic lava and hung with icicles and stalactites other trails lead through perpetual twilight among isles of waving ferns or terminate in the cloud-like beauty of falling mist where rainbows are imprisoned wind through alpine flower meadows multi-colored waistbands around the middle of the mountains [Music] for the veteran hiker other trails lead to high adventure like the wonderland trail that encircles mount rainier the mountain lifts its massive bulk almost two miles above the forested platform on which it stands one of the most massive up thrusts of single rock on the face of the planet earth to walk around rainier takes two full weeks of adventuring through a primeval wonderland in these two weeks the hiker meets the mountain face to face from every side from the north scarred and pitted from its battle with the elements rainier looks down on flower carpeted alpine meadows its west face forbidding and stern towers above tree bordered lakes carved out by its own downflowing glaciers eastward the great white mountain in majestic glory reflects the rays of each day's morning sun [Music] and from the south its weathered slopes are framed in the green of cascade forest valleys by the end of this trip the hikers know that mountains like men reveal their characters in their faces every climatic zone and botanical life belt is represented in the cascades lowest is the humid transition zone where silence rains and only filtered sunlight touches the forest floor a little higher in the canadian zone there is more sun and yet the trees are smaller this is because each thousand feet in elevation is like traveling north 300 miles above is the alpine where humpback trees lean shivering against the wind huddled together for survival [Music] above the alpine is the arctic icy region of eternal winter since the volcanic fires died a million years ago the mile high meadows of the hudsonian zone are playgrounds for the flowers here in rich volcanic ash the blossoms lead their short but merry lives this is the home of the columbine and the mariposa lily the farewell to spring and the woolly toes here flames the rhododendron washington's flower of state attended by a tufted lily whose leaves were once used by indian squash for weaving baskets and the brilliant indian paintbrush side by side with a profusion of colorful cousins whose opening buds herald the return of spring [Applause] melting glaciers make the northwest a land of shining waters a land of lakes both great and small in the bottom of a deep glacial corridor roofed by sky and walled by mile high granite cliffs is majestic lake chelan rivaling norway's rocky fjords or the sea cliff inlets of alaska steep-walled lake chalan is one of america's scenic wonders here you glide for half a hundred miles through a marine picture gallery with each new masterpiece more inspiring than the one that came before [Music] there are 700 mountain lakes along the cascade crest trail in washington and 700 more along the skyline trail in oregon [Music] crater lake one of the national parks of the northwest is also one of the natural wonders of the world six miles across four thousand feet from cliff rim to lake bottom encircled by two thousand foot volcanic walls largest bluest deepest of its kind in america crater lake fills the top of an extinct volcano known as mount mazama once mightiest of the fire mountains in a thunder of flame in some forgotten age the top of mount mazama exploded and fell into its own crater engulfing 17 cubic miles of rock believed to be filled by subterranean springs of water the lake mysteriously maintains an almost constant level without inlet or outlet that can be seen here in its protected volcanic harbor a petrified sailing vessel rides at anchor aptly christened the phantom ship the water of crater lake is unbelievably blue sometimes azure sometimes cobalt sometimes aquamarine but always some shade of blue [Music] the sculpturing of glaciers and the blasting of volcanoes has created a blue lake wonderland in them no machinery for irrigation or power in them only cold pure glacier-fed water ideal environment for his majesty the trout dozens scores hundreds of other lakes nestle among the cascade peaks in them cutthroats and dollyvarden fight each other for your spinner in this fisherman's paradise hundreds of lakes haven't even been named where trouters spawned grow up and die of old age without ever once being tempted by a fisherman's fly uncounted snow fed rivers also offer many kinds of trout steelheads and rainbows in the deschutes in oregon brawling its way through a hundred miles of cliffs and painted canyons cutthroat and silver sides and sea run steelheads in the umpqua and the world famous rogue in special built boats on the mackenzie river there's a 20-mile whitewater run for red sides that power packed cousin of the rainbow as full of fight pound for pound as any grizzly bear among washington's hundreds of rivers are the cowlitz and the calama where rainbows and cut throats abound and you find steelheads as big as any in oregon's world famous rogue the 60-mile wenatchee is a veritable aquarium of fish and even that goliath of the trout family the far-famed steelhead and north in washington or south in oregon there are salmon huge salmon the chinook the silver the sockeye in all the tributaries of the columbia so the northwest is a wonderland of waterfalls mighty and unrestrained entire rivers plummeting over high plateaus losing their identities to the wind disintegrating into swirling mist midway in their fall others tinkle into woodland dells like stage settings for a midsummer night's dream it's a fairy land of lakes and crystal pools looking glasses for the mountains of water jewels displayed on green meadow velvet or nestled in luxuriant forests or reposing in flower-freshened meadows the cascade lakes end in southern oregon where in one last rendezvous of loveliness the shining waters gather in crater and canyon valley and high meadow display cases for nature's liquid gems [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] in a region where snow drifts often reach 30 feet each new snowfall brings out winter sportsmen by the thousands no population center in the northwest is more than a few hours away from a winter [Music] wonderland in well-equipped ski areas along year-round routes of travel half a million skiers take to the snow [Music] country [Applause] the heather meadows winter play land at the foot of mount baker serves the snow fraternity of northern washington [Applause] in this land of summer snow the annual heather cup tournament is held on the 4th of july and right after the heather cup comes the slush cup object to skim across the slush to the solid shore in this competition excellent skiers buy against impossible odds down in oregon the ski resorts accommodate 350 000 skiers every year with all the modern paraphernalia rope toes t-bars [Music] pommel lifts chair lifts slalom runs jumping hills [Music] dormitories lodges expert instruction [Music] and spectacular night ski runs nature and man have joined forces to make oregon's highest mountain the outstanding ski realm in the snow peak kingdom integrated into one winter sports facility is every convenience for novice and expert alike unobstructed runs so plentiful you could spend two days out on the slopes and never come down the same run twice the deep forest below the lodge temps the venturesome with an assortment of skiing thrills above higher slopes are reached by one of the world's longest chairlift cableways by this aerial route 250 skiers per hour can arrive in unsurpassed ski terrain transferring from chairlift to snow cat the most confident go on up to 9000 feet and take to the snow for a seven mile downhill run fine facilities marvelous terrain and the longest skiing season in america makes mount hood one of the nation's finest skiing centers and in this land of contrasts each june portland's world-renowned rose festival comes to an end with the golden rose ski tournament on nearby mount hood thus in many ways the northwest wonderland's shining peaks and waters contribute to the well-being of all who visit them or live within their spheres of influence [Music] they are the source and the safeguard of water life's most precious gift except for sunshine and air they blend the rain and summer sun into a growing season as long as that of atlanta georgia [Music] they control the confirmation and the fertility of the soil they create both the raw materials and the power to change them into a more abundant way of life they fortify the confidence and lift the spirits of the people they invite they inspire they challenge [Music] they reward and so accept the challenge of one of america's most honored mountain lovers climb the mountains and get their good tidings nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees the winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy and your cares will drop away like autumn leaves oh you