{{Short description|Mountain range in Canada and the United States}} {{Infobox mountain | name=Kettle River Range | other_name= | image= Kettle-River-Range NASA-MODIS 11Aug2001.jpg | image_size=325px | image_caption=NASA satellite image of north central Washington state and southern British Columbia with the Kettle River Range outlined in red<br />(photo: MODIS Jacques Descloitres, 2001) | country=Canada/United States | region=Boundary Country: Washington & British Columbia | parent=Monashee Mountains,<br /> parent range: Columbia Mountains | geology= | geology1= | geology2= | orogeny= | highest= Copper Butte (U.S.) | elevation_m= 2177 | coordinates = {{coord|48|42|09|N|118|27|55|W|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline}} | range_coordinates = {{coord|49|0|N|118|25|W|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | image_map=Map of Washington highlighting Ferry County.svg | map_caption=The Kettle River Range defines the eastern and southern borders of Ferry County, Washington | map_size= | area_mi2=2700 }}
The '''Kettle River Range''', often called the '''Kettle Range''', is the southernmost range of the Monashee Mountains, located in southeastern British Columbia, Canada and Ferry County, Washington, in the United States.<ref>{{gnis|1529907}}</ref> Most of the northern half of the range is protected by the Colville National Forest.<ref>[http://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/colville USDA Forest Service, ''Colville National Forest'']</ref> The southern half of the range is located on the Colville Indian Reservation.<ref>[http://www.aaanativearts.com/colville-tribe/colville-reservation.htm Nez Perce Tribe and Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, map]</ref> The highest peak is Copper Butte, which reaches {{convert|2177|m|ft|0}}.<ref>[http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=2962 Peakbagger.com, Peaks List, ''Copper Butte, Washington'']</ref> The range is crossed by Washington State Route 20 at Sherman Pass.
==Geography== The Kettle River Range encompasses an area of {{convert|2700|mi2|km2}} and is a subrange of the Monashee Mountains, which in turn form part of the Columbia Mountains.<ref name="SI">[http://www.bivouac.com/ArxPg.asp?ArxId=1750 Kettle River Range] in the Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia</ref> The range runs north to south, bordered on the east by the Kettle River and the Columbia River, and on the west by the Kettle River, the Curlew Valley and the San Poil River. The mountainous region begins immediately north of the Canada–US border, at Grand Forks, British Columbia, extending 110 miles (177 km) south to the bend of the Columbia River and Lake Roosevelt, formed by Grand Coulee Dam, where it terminates. The Okanogan Highlands are adjacent to the range on the west, and the Selkirk Mountains are adjacent on the east.
₭The Sherman Pass Scenic Byway runs {{convert|40|mi|km|0}} east from the town of Republic, Washington across the center of the Kettle River Range and reaches its highest point at Sherman Pass, {{convert|5575|ft|m|0}}, the highest mountain pass open all year in Washington state.<ref name="Byway">{{Cite web |url=http://byways.org/explore/byways/2232/ |title=America's Byways, ''Sherman Pass Scenic Byway'' |access-date=2012-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320073940/http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2232/ |archive-date=2007-03-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The route is named for American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman, who crossed the range in 1883.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Heafield|first1=Reginald|title=The Official History of the Washington National Guard|url=http://mil.wa.gov/national-guard/museum/official-history-of-washington-national-guard|website=Washington National Guard|access-date=24 April 2015}}</ref> Crossing the range to the north is county road 602, which travels over the {{cvt|4,600|ft|m}} Boulder-Deer Creek Pass between Curlew and U.S. Route 395 south of Orient, Washington.<ref name="CWPP2015">{{cite web |url=https://www.dnr.wa.gov/publications/rp_burn_cwpp_ferry_county.pdf |title=Ferry County, Washington Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) |date=2015 |publisher=Washington state Department of Natural Resources}}</ref> One pass is present in the southern reach of the mountains, Bridge Creek Pass between Highway 21 and Inchelium.<ref name="CWPP2006">{{cite web |url=https://www.dnr.wa.gov/publications/rp_burn_cwppferry.pdf |title=Ferry County, Washington Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) |date=December 8, 2006 |publisher=Washington state Department of Natural Resources |access-date=May 6, 2025 |archive-date=February 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250212205541/https://www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/rp_burn_cwppferry.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="CWPP2015"/>
==History==
Prospectors and low-paid Chinese miners working claims in the Kettle River Range produced more than 839,000 ounces of gold between 1896 and 1959.<ref name=Gold>{{cite web|last=WashingtonGold.net|title=Ferry County Washington Gold|url=http://washingtongold.net/?s=Ferry|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> The largest amounts came from the Republic District although 6,000 ounces of gold came from the Danville and Columbia River Districts.<ref name=Gold /> Terrace deposits 30 and 100 feet above the Columbia River at Keller also produced gold.<ref name=Gold /> Records state that during this time period, 164 lode mines, where thick mineral veins were worked with pick axes and shovels, and 35 placer mines, where minerals exposed by erosion were recovered from rivers and loose surface soil, operated in Ferry County.<ref name=Gold />—From 1904 to 1928, the Kettle River Range was the largest producer of gold in the state.<ref name=Gold /> Mining operations yielded silver, copper, lead, zinc, platinum, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, iron, and iron pyrite ("fool’s gold"), as well.<ref name=Gold />
Today, the Kettle River Range is a popular, all-season recreation area for hiking, sport and aided climbing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. The Kettle Crest National Recreation Trail follows the backbone of the range, and may be accessed at the Boulder-Deer Creek Summit South Sno-Park Trailhead at the north or the Kettle Crest trailhead on Sherman Pass in the south.<ref>[http://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/colville/recreation USDA Forest Service, ''Kettle Crest (North) National Recreation Trail'']</ref>
==Flora== One of the most restricted Canadian endemic species, ''Phemeranthus sediformis'', the Okanogan fameflower, is native to the Columbia Mountains and Kettle River Range Between Kelowna and the northern Colville Reservation boarder in Washington State.<ref name="Cordillera1994">{{cite journal |last1=Goward |first1=T. |last2=Knight |first2=H. |year=1994 |title=The Fameflower (''Talinum sediforme'') Portrait of a Northwest Endemic |journal=Cordillera: A Journal of British Columbia Natural History |volume=1 |pages=1-10 |url=https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/public/pdfs/Goward_Knight_1994_The_fameflower.pdf}}</ref><ref name="PropCMNM">{{cite web |publisher=Pacific Biodiversity Institute |website=pacificbio.org |title=Scientific Justification for the Proposed Columbia Mountains National Monument |access-date=March 15, 2025 |page=74-79 |url=https://pacificbio.org/publications/ecosystem_studies/national_monuments/Columbia_Mountains_Scientific_Justification_2000.pdf}}</ref>
==Wildfires== The White Mountain fire burnt and destroyed 21,000 acres of timber in the southern half of the range in 1988, including all but the easternmost flanks of White Mountain, Edds Mountain, Bald Mountain, and Snow Peak, north to Sherman Peak. The State of Washington installed several interpretive sites and pull-outs along roads in the region that explain the causes and effects of the fire.<ref name="Fire">[https://archive.today/20130122180202/http://www.experiencewa.com/attraction.aspx?bid=96 Washington Tourism Alliance, ''White Mountain Fire Interpretive Site''], official state site</ref>
On August 13, 2001, a series of major wildfires and complexes were ignited by regional lightning storms passing over eastern Washington.<ref name="Eburg25th">{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Nine wildfires since Aug. 14 |work=Ellensburg Daily Record |location=Ellensburg, WA |date=Aug 25, 2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UDEfAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Mount+Leona%22&pg=PA2}}</ref> Among them was the Mount Leona Fire which burned for several weeks and encompasses over 6,000 acres in the central Kettle River range northeast of Curlew Lake.<ref name="Herald18th">{{cite news |date=August 18, 2001 |agency=Associated Press |title=Fire crews keep their eyes on the winds in 4 states |work=The Everett Herald |page=A10 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-fire-crews-keep-their-e/150260594/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=June 28, 2024}}</ref>
The Kettle Complex fires occurred in late summer of 2015. The complex included three fires – the Stickpin, Renner and Graves Mountain fires – burning south of the Canada–US border, west of Highway 395, north of State Route 20 and east of Highway 21. An estimated 73,392 acres were burned.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kettle Complex |url=https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4536/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820025925/http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4536 |archive-date=2015-08-20 |website=InciWeb the Incident Information System}}</ref>
==Major summits== * Copper Butte, {{convert|7142|ft|m|0}}, the highest summit in the Kettle River Range * Snow Peak, {{convert|7103|ft|m|0}}, <small>{{coord|48|34|55|N|118|28|56|W|name=Snow Peak}}</small> * Scar Mountain, {{convert|7046|ft|m|0}}, <small>{{coord|48|40|52|N|118|27|36|W|name=Scar Mountain}}</small> * Wapaloosie Mountain, {{convert|7018|ft|m|0}}, <small>{{coord|48|39|52|N|118|27|47|W|name=Wapaloosie Mountain}}</small> * Sherman Peak, {{convert|7011|ft|m|0}}, <small>{{coord|48|35|48|N|118|28|39|W|name=Sherman Peak}}</small> * Bald Mountain, {{convert|6940|ft|m|0}}, <small>{{coord|48|33|33|N|118|30|09|W|name=Bald Mountain}}</small> * White Mountain, {{convert|6923|ft|m|0}}, <small>{{coord|48|30|41|N|118|27|12|W|name=White Mountain}}</small> * Columbia Mountain, {{convert|6782|ft|m|0}}, <small>{{coord|48|37|13|N|118|28|55|W|name=White Mountain}}</small> * Midnight Mountain, {{convert|6660|ft|m|0}}, <small>{{coord|48|35|48|N|118|28|39|W|name=Sherman Peak}}</small> * King Mountain, {{convert|6634|ft|m|0}}, <small>{{coord|48|40|36|N|118|24|11|W|name=King Mountain}}</small> * Edds Mountain, {{convert|6540|ft|m|0}}, <small>{{coord|48|33|27|N|118|32|16|W|name=Edds Mountain}}</small>
==See also== *List of mountain ranges in Washington
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://listsofjohn.com/PeakStats/search.php?c=274 LOJ Peaks List, ''Ferry County''], list of all significant peaks in the range *[http://www.summitpost.org/kettle-river-range/682199 SummitPost.org, ''Kettle River Range'' (U.S.)], includes photos
{{Interior Ranges of British Columbia}}
Category:Monashee Mountains Category:Boundary Country Category:Mountains of Ferry County, Washington Category:Mountain ranges of Washington (state)