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Cascade Range

Cascade Range

5.8
A long mountain range in the northwest United States across Washington, Oregon and northern California
  • proper noun
  • /ˈkæs.keɪd reɪndʒ/
translation icon : Cordillera Cascade
  • Hiking trails in the Cascade Range offer stunning vistas of forests and rivers.
  • east of the Cascade Range

Examples

  • The high-humidity weather pattern that affects Seattle stops at the Cascade Range.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The great peaks in the Cascade Range are mostly named after English royalty who never saw them.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Other student places will include those more arid regions east of the Cascade Range that can average as little as 5 annual inches of precipitation.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Mine began near Manashtash Lake on the Taenum drainage in the Cascade Range.

    Academic text (1999)
  • For our purposes, this region is defined as consisting of the roughly 10.4 million hectares of forest land between the Cascade Range crest and the Pacific Ocean in Oregon and Washington.

    Academic text (1996)
  • No one said "boo," or anything else for that matter, for a long time at Burlington-Edison High, situated in Washington's Skagit County, a valley stretching from the snowcapped North Cascade Range on the east to the icy blue waters of Puget Sound on the west.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The breathtaking views of Mount Rainier can be seen from the Cascade Range.

  • The Cascade Range stretches from northern California all the way to Washington state.

Synonyms

Cascades
vsCascade Range
9 5.0

A mountain range in the northwest United States with many volcanoes

is the formal two-word geographic name instead of the shorter familiar form
Cascade Mountains
vsCascade Range
1 3.5

A mountain range in northwest United States running through Washington, Oregon and northern California with volcanic peaks

is the formal two-word geographic name rather than this alternative label

Surface Forms

Morphology

Cascade + range

The headword combines 'Cascade' (from 'cascade' = waterfall or cascading feature) with 'range' (a chain of mountains), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a mountain chain associated with cascades or named for them. Although it is a specific toponym, its basic meaning as a mountain range is directly derivable from the parts and follows common place-name composition patterns.

Etymology

Cascade Range gets its name from the word cascade, which means a 'waterfall' or water that 'falls' in steps, because many rivers and streams drop down the mountains in waterfalls. That's why the name fits these mountains known for their many falls and fast-moving water.