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Cascade Pass and Pelton Basin in the high country protected by the 1968 park act.
Photograph by the National Park Service. Public domain.

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North Cascades National Park, 1968

North Cascades National Park · Whatcom County · October 2, 1968

President Johnson signed Public Law 90-544 on October 2, 1968, creating a national park and two recreation areas for "majestic mountain scenery."

On October 2, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Public Law 90-544 (82 Stat. 926). The act established North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. It also created the Pasayten Wilderness and modified the Glacier Peak Wilderness.

NPS quotes the purpose as protecting majestic mountain scenery. The enabling record lists 276,928 hectares, or 684,305 acres, for the complex. This card is the establishment story. The glacier and landscape card is a separate story.

The photograph is Cascade Pass and Pelton Basin, the high country the 1968 act was written to keep. The sources below are the National Park Service record of the enabling act.

  • Geography & Geology
  • History

Sources (2)

Last reviewed: September 20, 2026

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North Cascades National Park, 1968 · From Washington To You