North Cascades National Park Service Complex includes three units: North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. North Cascades National Park is primarily a wilderness park, with minimal roads and a large portion of the park designated as the Stephen Mather Wilderness. Ross Lake National Recreation Area includes Ross Lake, Diablo Lake and Gorge Lake, all created by the dams powering the Skagit Hydroelectric Project (managed by Seattle City Light). Lake Chelan National Recreation Area includes Stehekin, a small semi-roadless community at the headwaters of Lake Chelan; the Buckner Historic District, a 1900s homestead and historic orchard; and a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail.
This digital archive collection includes materials from the North Cascades NPS Complex museum and archival collections as well as contemporary images collected by park staff. Many images were generated through resource monitoring efforts while others have been donated to the park complex’s historical photograph collection. The site is a work in progress; images are being added as often as staff time allows. Researchers and members of the public may contact NOCA_Curator@nps.gov to inquire about material contained in the park complex’s museum and archival collection that has not yet been included in the digital archive. More information about the park complex’s museum collection and cultural resources are available at Collections - North Cascades National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) .
Most materials in this collection were generated through the North Cascades NPS Complex glacier monitoring program, which started in 1993. It focuses on the four glaciers that are being monitored: Noisy Creek, North Klawatti, Sandalee, and Silver Creek. Historical aerial photographs of the glacier prior to the program’s start are also included, as are photographs of a few other glaciers in North Cascades National Park. More information about the glaciers and their change over time can be found at Glacier Monitoring Program - North Cascades National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
The materials in the Davis Family Collection include photographs and diaries created by Lucinda Davis and her three children, Frank, Glee, and Dessa. The Davis family moved to Washington from Denver, Colorado in 1890 and homesteaded in the Upper Skagit Valley until 1929. Their photographs and personal accounts provide a rare portrait of early homesteading life in the North Cascades. The collection is larger than the digital materials available here, and a full finding aid is available by request to NOCA_Curator@nps.gov.
These images are produced from geological thin sections in the Peter Misch Geology Collection. A thin section is a slice taken from a rock sample that has been glued to a microscope slide and ground down until it is so thin that light can shine through it. Polarized light is then used to identify the minerals present and illuminate the rock’s molecular structure. Peter Misch studied the geology of the North Cascades from the late 1940s until the early 1980s. As an influential geology professor at the University of Washington, he brought many young geologists with him to the North Cascades on fieldwork. More information about the geology of the North Cascades and Peter Misch’s contribution to understanding their complex history is available at Mapping the North Cascades (arcgis.com) .
This collection includes images collected by staff during their work at North Cascades NPS Complex. Images of natural events such as fires and mudslides are included along with scenery, flora, and fauna.
This collection is a conglomerate of the many historical photographs donated to the North Cascades NPS Complex museum collection. Currently the online selection is a small taste of what is available within the physical collection. This collection will continue to grow until all of the historical photographs have been included. Researchers seeking to access historical photographs from the North Cascades NPS Complex museum collection that are not available through NPGallery may contact NOCA_Curator@nps.gov.
The selection of finding aids included here represents archival collections that have been formally processed and described. The North Cascades NPS Complex archives contain many other materials that have not yet been incorporated into formal archival arrangements. Most materials are available for public viewing, but some records are restricted because they contain sensitive information. For more information or to make an appointment for a reference visit, please contact NOCA_Curator@nps.gov.