| Sentinel Peak | |
| Elevation Ft: | 6592 |
| Prominence Ft: | 652 |
| Isolation Mi: | 2.0 |
| Isolation Ref: | [1] |
| Parent Peak: | Mount Claywood (6,836 ft) |
| Part Type: | Protected area |
| Part: | Olympic National Park |
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Washington |
| Region: | Jefferson |
| Region Type: | County |
| Range: | Olympic Mountains |
| Map: | Washington#USA |
| Label Position: | bottom |
| Coordinates: | 47.7788°N -123.3422°W |
| Topo: | USGS Wellesley Peak |
| Easiest Route: | Hiking via Hayden Pass[2] |
Sentinel Peak is a 6592feet mountain summit located in the Olympic Mountains, in Jefferson County of Washington state.[3] Rising in the center of Olympic National Park, its nearest higher neighbor is Mount Fromme, 1.42miles to the northwest. Sentinels Sister is a lower 6301feet companion summit situated 0.65miles to the southwest. The two peaks stand as sentinels above the Dosewalips Valley and Hayden Pass, and were possibly named by an early expedition of the Seattle Mountaineers.[4] Precipitation runoff from the peak drains to Hood Canal via the Dosewallips River.
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Sentinel Peak is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.[5] [6] Weather fronts originating in the Pacific Ocean travel northeast toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snow. As a result, the Olympics experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall.[7] Because of maritime influence, snow tends to be wet and heavy, resulting in avalanche danger. During winter months weather is usually cloudy, but due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer.[5] The months of July through September offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.
The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust.[8] The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.