Alpine glaciers, wild coastlines, temperate rainforests and deep river valleys coexist on the Olympic Peninsula, in the northwest corner of Washington state. Surrounded by blue waters, peaceful islands and bustling population centres, its rugged interior remains a relatively remote bastion of nature.

The stunning terrain of the Olympic Mountains comes into focus in this oblique view of the region, captured by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. The image is a composition, made of several overlapping sequential photographs fused into a panorama. Olympic National Park encompasses the mountainous core of the peninsula, along with some stretches of the Pacific coast. Much of the remaining area is national forest, state-owned lands, or tribal territory.

The rock that makes up the mountains originated mostly below the surface of the ocean. From about 55 to 15 million years ago, layers of basalt from underwater eruptions and sand and mud transported to the sea by rivers accumulated on the ocean floor. This material was scraped off the Juan de Fuca plate as it subducted beneath the North American plate, with layers of rock flattening and rising up to 8,000 feet (2,440 meters) above sea level.

Tectonic forces continue to push the mountains skyward, but the countervailing force of erosion in this rainy, snowy corner of the country effectively negates the uplift. Snow at higher elevations feeds glaciers that carve out the underlying rock. However, the glaciers in the Olympics are receding and thinning, and their numbers are decreasing. One study counted 255 glaciers and perennial snowfields in the mountain range in 2015 and found that 35 glaciers and 16 perennial snowfields had disappeared in the previous 35 years.

Other erosion is evident in the deep valleys that radiate from the snow-capped peaks. The Hoh, Queets and Quinault rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean to the west (bottom of the painting), are prominent in this view. These verdant valleys are known for their temperate rainforests, and the ancient forest in the Hoh River Valley was once considered one of the most naturally quiet places in the US, uninterrupted by man-made noise.

The Elwha River, flowing north, has a rich natural and human history, including some of the earliest Euro-American exploration of the Olympic Games. Sponsored by a Seattle newspaper, an expedition from December 1889 to May 1890 crossed the range from north to south, up the Elwha Valley and down the Quinault. The group spent several months in the Elwha Valley, their progress being hampered by an unusually harsh and snowy winter.

In the early 20th century, businessmen saw economic opportunities in the valley. Two dams built on the river produced energy for local industry. But the structures came with costs, such as blocking the migration of once-abundant trout and salmon to their spawning grounds. In 2011 and 2014, the dams were removed in what was then the largest project of its kind in the U.S., and the process of restoring fish populations, seeding native plant communities, and replenishing sediment along riverbanks began.

The mouth of the Elwha forms a delta in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a waterway that borders the peninsula to the north. The border between the United States and Canada runs through the center of this 11 to 17 mile wide (18 to 27 kilometers wide) channel, with Vancouver Island in British Columbia to the north. The strait connects the Pacific Ocean with the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound. Shipping traffic uses the strait to access major West Coast ports, including Seattle and Tacoma, visible in the upper right edge of the image.

Astronaut photographs ISS047-E-104138 to ISS047-E-104144 were acquired on May 6, 2016 with a Nikon D4 digital camera with a focal length of 400 millimeters. They are provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observation Facility and the Earth Sciences and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center. The images were taken by an Expedition 47 crew member. The images have been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Laboratory to help astronauts take photographs of Earth that will be of great value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

• Source, AG, et al. (2022) Olympic Mountains Glaciers, Washington: the past and the future 100 years. Geophysical Research Journal: Earth’s Surface127(4), e2022JF006670.
• NASA Earth Observatory (February 14, 2016) Olympic National Park. Accessed July 22, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (August 25, 2012) Elwha River Restoration. Accessed July 22, 2026.
• National Park Service (2026, July 7) Olympic National Park. Accessed July 22, 2026.
• Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Olympic Mountains. Accessed July 22, 2026.