=Martin Peak.= On the northwestern boundary of the Park. Origin of name not ascertained.
=Mary Belle Falls.= On the southeast slope in the upper waters of Nickel Creek. The name was suggested by Superintendent Ethan Allen in honor of one of the daughters of E. S. Hall, former Superintendent of the Park.
=Mazama Ridge.= On the southern slope of the mountain, beginning at Sluiskin Falls. Named for the Oregon mountain climbing club whose main camp was pitched there in 1905.
=Meadow Creek.= Near the northwestern boundary of the Park. It rises near Tolmie Peak and was named by Bailey Willis in 1883.
=Mildred Point.= On the southwest slope, overlooking the foot of Kautz Glacier. Origin of name not ascertained.
=Mineral Mountain.= On the north-central slope of the mountain, overlooking Mystic Lake. The name tells the hopes of early prospectors who worked there before the National Park was created.
=Mirror Lakes.= On the southwestern slope of the mountain, in Indian Henrys Hunting Ground.
=Mist Park.= In the northwestern portion of the Park, on the shoulders of Mother Mountain. Elevation, 6,000 feet above sea level. This park is also known as Cataract Basin.
=Moraine Park.= On the northern slope, bordering Carbon Glacier. It was named by Professor I. C. Russell.
=Mosquito Flat.= In the north-central portion of the Park, near Lakes James and Ethel. The name indicates that the place was first visited at an unfortunate season. Elevation, 4,400 feet above sea level.
=Mother Mountain.= An extensive ridge in the northwestern portion of the Park. The name came from the figure of a woman in the rock on the northeastern summit of the ridge clearly seen silhouetted against the sky by those traveling on the Carbon River trail. Elevation, 6,540 feet above sea level.
=Mount Ararat.= On the southwest slope, overlooking Indian Henrys Hunting Ground. Ben Longmire writes: "I named it because I found there some long slabs of wood that had turned to stone and I thought they might have been part of old Noah"s boat. I also found a stump with a ring around it as if his rope might have been tied there. It was all stone." Elevation, 5,996 feet above sea level.
=Mount Fremont.= In the northern portion of the Park at the western extremity of Sourdough Mountains. The origin of the name has not been ascertained. Elevation, 7,300 feet above sea level.
=Mount Pleasant.= In the northwestern portion of the Park, overlooking Mist and Spray Parks.
=Mount Rainier.= Named for Admiral Peter Rainier of the British Navy by Captain George Vancouver in 1792. For his own account of the discovery and naming of the mountain, see Chapter I of this book.
Elevation, 14,408 feet above sea level.
=Mount Ruth.= On the northeastern slope of the mountain, overlooking the Inter and Emmons Glaciers. The name was given in honor of Ruth Knapp, daughter of the prospector who built "Knapp"s Cabin," a landmark for tourists in the Glacier Basin region. Elevation, 8,700 feet above sea level.
=Mount Wow.= In the southwestern corner of the Park. It is sometimes called Goat Mountain. Elevation, 6,045 feet above sea level.
=Mountain Meadows.= In the northwestern corner of the Park. The name originated with Bailey Willis in 1883. Elevation, 4,000 feet above sea level.
=Mowich Glaciers.= On the western and northwestern slopes of the mountain are two beautiful glaciers known as North and South Mowich.
The name is from the Chinook jargon, meaning "deer." Who first suggested the name has not been ascertained. Each glacier has its draining stream. These flow together, making Mowich River, which crosses the northwestern boundary of the Park. North Mowich was once called Willis Glacier and South Mowich was called Edmunds Glacier.
=Muddy Fork.= On the southeastern slope of the mountain. One of several sources of the Cowlitz River, it drains from the foot of the large Cowlitz Glacier.
=Myrtle Falls.= On the southern slope in Edith Creek, a tributary of the Paradise River. The name was given by Jules Stampfler, the guide, in 1907. Myrtle was a member of one of his parties, but he has forgotten the rest of her name.
=Mystic Lake.= On the northern slope of the mountain, between the Winthrop and Carbon Glaciers. It is a favorite place for campers who expect to attempt the ascent of the mountain on its northern slopes.
Elevation, 5,750 feet above sea level. Named by Prof. J. B. Flett and H. H. Garretson on account of a mysterious temporary whirlpool seen near its outlet.
=Nahunta Falls.= On the south slope. At one time the falls had the name Marie, but it was changed at the suggestion of Secretary Josephus Daniels of the United States Navy Department. He says: "The name was familiar to me as one given by the Carolina Tuscarora to a river in North Carolina and also to their largest fort or "head town.""
Secretary Daniels obtained from the Bureau of American Ethnology information that the name has appeared under various spellings and may mean "tall trees" or "tall timbers."
=Narada Falls.= On the south-central slope, the princ.i.p.al feature of the lower Paradise River. An effort was recently made to change the name to Cushman Falls in honor of the late Congressman F. W. Cushman, a strong friend of the Park. The present name is of Theosophical origin. Narada was a spiritual being worshipped by the Brahman people in India by reason of his service to the first race of men. Among modern Theosophists the word has become a metaphysical subject, the greater part of which is given to esoteric students and cannot be revealed. The word itself means "uncontaminated." The wonderful beauty of the scene, in its pure and original form, suggested the name to an early group of visitors, Theosophists, consisting of the following persons: Professor E. O. Schwagerl, Mr. and Mrs. George A. Sheffield, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Knight, Miss Ida Wright (now Mrs. Vern Mudgett), Mrs. Addie G. Barlow and Mr. Henry Carter. Elevation, 4,572 feet above sea level.
=National Park Inn.= At Longmire Springs near the southwestern entrance to the Park. This attractive hotel has frequently been so overrun with guests that numerous tents have been used for sleeping quarters. These are placed in the groves of pines and firs on the bank of the Nisqually River. Many trips to interesting parts of the mountain are made from the Inn. Elevation, 2,761 feet above sea level.
=Natural Bridge.= In the north-central portion of the Park. Many photographers have scrambled to the scene of this natural curiosity.
Elevation, 5,400 feet above sea level.
=Needle Creek.= Near the east-central boundary of the Park. It is a tributary of Kotsuck Creek and takes its rise near the sharp cliffs of Cowlitz Chimneys, which may have suggested the name "Needle."
=Needle Rock.= On the northwest slope, overlooking the North Mowich Glacier. The name was given by Professor J. B. Flett from its supposed resemblance to Cleopatra"s Needle. Elevation, 7,587 feet above sea level.
=Nisqually Glacier.= The large glacier flowing from the southern flank of Mount Rainier. It was named by Stevens and Van Trump in 1870 when they found it to be the source of Nisqually River.
=Nisqually River.= Rising at the foot of Nisqually Glacier, it flows southwesterly through the Park and empties into Puget Sound between Tacoma and Olympia. It was mentioned in the Journal of John Work of the Hudson"s Bay Company, as early as 1824. The first settlement by white men on Puget Sound was made by the Hudson"s Bay Company near its mouth in May, 1833. That trading post was called Nisqually House. Rev.
Myron Eells, the talented missionary, says the word comes from the native word, "Squally-o-bish," from the tribe of that name.
=North Mowich.= See Mowich.
=North Park.= In the northwestern corner of the Park. Elevation, about 5,000 feet above sea level.
=Northern Crags.= In the northwestern portion of the Park, overlooking Elysian Fields.
=Observation Rock.= On the northwest slope near Flett Glacier. In 1885 it was named Observation Point by Prof. L. F. Henderson. An extensive view of western Washington is to be had from its top. Elevation, 8,364 feet above sea level.
=Ohanapecosh Glacier.= On the east-central slope of the mountain.
Below the glacier lies the beautiful Ohanapecosh Park, from which flows the river of the same name, which pa.s.ses out of the Park at the northeastern corner of the boundary. The name is Indian, but its meaning has not been ascertained.
=Old Desolate.= A ridge in the northwestern portion of the Park between Moraine and Vernal Parks.
=Ollala Creek.= In the southeastern corner of the Park. The name is from the Chinook jargon, meaning "berries."
=Owyhigh Lakes.= Near the east-central boundary of the Park. The Yakima had a great war leader, Chief Owhigh, and this is apparently an honor for him. See narrative by Theodore Winthrop in this book, Chapter IV.
=Panhandle Gap.= On the east-central slope of the mountain, above the Sarvent Glaciers. Elevation, about 7,000 feet above sea level.
=Panorama Point.= On the southern slope of the mountain, overlooking Nisqually Glacier.
=Paradise Glacier.= On the southeast slope. In 1870, Stevens and Van Trump called it Little Nisqually Glacier.
=Paradise River.= Stevens and Van Trump called the river Glacier Creek in 1870.
=Paradise Valley.= On the south-central slope. This is the best known part of the Park. David Longmire says that his mother (wife of the pioneer, James Longmire) and a Mrs. Jameson were the first women to visit the region. As they wound up the zigzag trail through the forest they were suddenly in the midst of most wonderful mountain scenery.
"O, what a paradise!" exclaimed one. "Yes, a real paradise," answered the other. That was in 1885, and the name Paradise has remained in use for the valley and has also been extended to the river and the glacier from which it takes its source.
=Paul Peak.= In the northwestern corner of the Park. Origin of name not ascertained.
=Peak Success.= The southern summit of Mount Rainier. It was named in 1870 by Stevens and Van Trump on the occasion of their making the first ascent of the mountain. The new map calls it Point Success.
Elevation, 14,150 feet above sea level.