Map of the Cascades
The whole Cascades on real terrain, from our satellite elevation model — the full arc masked to the range’s mapped boundary, with 8 of its great peaks pinned (each labelled with its surveyed height). Mount Rainier tops them all at 14,409 ft (4,392 m). Drag to spin it (two-finger to orbit on mobile).
Where are the Cascades?
The Cascades lie across 2 countries. By area the range is dominated by the United States and Canada — together about 100% of it. Each share below is this page’s own measurement: the range boundary intersected with each country’s outline, by true (geodesic) area.
| Country | Share of range | Area |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 90.3% | 39,907 mi² (103,358 km²) |
| Canada | 9.7% | 4,295 mi² (11,124 km²) |
Range boundary: GMBA Mountain Inventory v2.0 (standard extent). Country outlines: geoBoundaries ADM0. Computed range area 114,483 km² — within about 1% of GMBA’s published 114,472 km².
The highest peak: Mount Rainier
The highest point of the Cascades is Mount Rainier, at 14,409 ft (4,392 m) — the highest peak in the Cascade Range. Rainier carries the largest glacier system of any mountain in the contiguous United States, so the satellite radar reads the top of the ice; the headline is the surveyed height.
Zooming to the roof of the range — a fine ~67 m model of the Mount Rainier massif.
Great peaks of the Cascades
A curated selection — the range's major volcanoes and highest summits, chosen for fame and spread rather than by a strict height cutoff. Each is pinned on the map above; the heights here are the surveyed figures.
| Peak | Elevation | Country | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Rainierhighest | 14,409 ft (4,392 m) | Pierce Co., Washington | Highest in the Cascades; heavily glaciated stratovolcano |
| Mount Shasta | 14,180 ft (4,322 m) | Siskiyou Co., California | Second-highest Cascade volcano; glaciated |
| Mount Adams | 12,280 ft (3,743 m) | Yakima/Skamania Co., Washington | Broad glacier-clad stratovolcano |
| Mount Hood | 11,250 ft (3,429 m) | Clackamas/Hood River Co., Oregon | Highest point in Oregon |
| Mount Baker | 10,781 ft (3,286 m) | Whatcom Co., Washington | Glaciated volcano near the Canadian border |
| Lassen Peak | 10,456 ft (3,187 m) | Shasta Co., California | Southern terminus of the Cascade volcanoes |
| Mount Garibaldi | 8,786 ft (2,678 m) | British Columbia, Canada | In the Canadian Cascades, north of the border |
| Mount St. Helens | 8,363 ft (2,549 m) | Skamania Co., Washington | Site of the catastrophic 1980 eruption |
Relief and elevation range
Across the mapped range the land runs from about 0 ft (0 m) on the valley floors to 14,278 ft (4,352 m) at the highest ground — a vertical range of 14,278 ft (4,352 m), which puts the Cascades in the extreme-relief class. The mean elevation is 3,576 ft (1,090 m) and the median 3,504 ft (1,068 m); the two sitting close together says the height is spread broadly across the range, not concentrated in a few peaks over otherwise low ground.
The distribution above is the share of the range’s area at each elevation, computed from the same satellite model as the maps. It reads the Cascades as a true massif — a large area held high — rather than a thin crest.
Cascades FAQ
- How many countries do the Cascades cross?
- The range has a substantial footprint in 2 countries — the United States and Canada hold the largest shares.
- How long are the Cascades?
- The Cascades arc roughly 1,130 km down western North America, from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon into Northern California. The map above shows that whole arc masked to the range’s mapped boundary.
- How were the Cascades formed?
- The Cascade Range is a volcanic arc raised by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate beneath North America, which feeds its chain of stratovolcanoes.
- Is Mount Rainier the highest peak in the Cascades?
- Yes. Mount Rainier, at 14,409 ft (4,392 m), is the highest point anywhere in the Cascades. The next-highest of the peaks pinned here, Mount Shasta, is about 230 ft (70 m) lower.
Related ranges
More of the world’s mountains, rendered the same way — explore other ranges in 3D.
- Rockies↑ Mount Elbert, 14,439 ft (4,401 m)
- Sierra Nevada↑ Mount Whitney, 14,505 ft (4,421 m)
- Appalachians↑ Mount Mitchell, 6,683 ft (2,037 m)
- Andes↑ Aconcagua, 22,838 ft (6,961 m)
- Alps↑ Mont Blanc, 15,766 ft (4,805.59 m)
- Himalayas↑ Mount Everest, 29,032 ft (8,848.86 m)
Elevation from Copernicus GLO-30 (ESA), sampled over the range and masked to its boundary. The range boundary is the GMBA Mountain Inventory v2.0 (standard extent; Snethlage et al. 2022, CC BY 4.0). Country outlines from geoBoundaries. Every figure on this page is computed from these sources; the surveyed Mount Rainier height is the one exception, cited above. See the methodology. Data as of 2026-08-22.