Understand
The Cascades are a mountain range that stretches some 700 miles 1100 km from British Columbia through central Washington into Oregon. By causing moist Pacific air to drop rain and dry out as it blows into the continent, the Cascades divide Washington state into a wet west and an arid east. The Cascades are tall -- several are above 10,000' 3000m high, including Mount Baker in this region. Because their valleys are low and the mountains quite steep, many mountains in the Cascades are visually quite striking.
To the west from the Cascades to the coast are lowlands. Interstate Highway 5 I-5 runs north from Seattle to Vancouver, British Columbia. In Snohomish county, cities like Everett and Snohomish are in the outer reaches of Seattle's influence. The Skagit Valley is fertile farmland, overflowing with tulips in the spring. Just off I-5, Anacortes is the gateway to the San Juan Islands. Further north, Bellingham is the last US city before the Canadian border.
The North Cascades region is made up of Chelan (http://www.co.chelan.wa.us/), Kittitas (http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us/), Okanogan (http://www.okanogancounty.org/), Skagit (http://www.skagitcounty.net/), and Whatcom (http://www.co.whatcom.wa.us/) counties. The term "North Cascades" sometimes means the mountain chain as far south as Mount Rainier. The Cascades continue south in the Southwest Washington region, then into Oregon and northern California.
