When many people picture Washington State they envision the skyline of Seattle with Mount Rainier behind it. Mount Rainier is one of the most famous natural feature of Washington State. The mountain is popular with climbers who go to the top, hikers who circumnavigate it, and campers who spend days in its shadow. This most famous of all of the Cascade Mountains is one of the most visited places in the state, but here are seven things you don’t know about Mount Rainier.

1. Mount Rainier is actually topped by two separate volcanic craters.

2. Six rivers flow from the glacial snow of Mount Rainier, they are the Puyallup, Carbon, Mowich, Nisqually, Cowlitz and White rivers.

3. The first European to view Mount Rainier was the British explorer Captain George Vancouver. He named the mountain after his friend, Rear Admiral Peter Rainier.

4. Mount Rainier National Park was created by President William McKinley and was the fifth national park in the United States.

5. As recent as 1924, the United States Congress considered a resolution to change the name of Mount Rainier to Mount Tacoma.

6. In 1946, 32 people died when the plane they were in crashed into the side of Mount Rainier, the crash site was located on the South Tahoma Glacier.

7. The Wonderland Trail is a 93 mile long hiking trail that circumnavigates the entire mountain.

The pure beauty of Mount Rainier is one of the reasons that anyone visiting the state of Washington needs to make sure that they include it on their list of places to see. Mount Rainier rarely disappoints its visitors and usually rates very high with travelers from out of state. There is so much to do in and around the mountain that anyone with any outdoor recreation interests will find more than enough to occupy themselves with.