Air and water quality thumb|Air quality in North Cascades National Park is generally considered good and aside from some reduced clarity due to haze, even distant peaks are easily seen most days.|alt=A distant mountain range above a diagonal slope of forest. While North Cascades National Park is in a remote region for the most part, the prevailing westerly winds bring various pollutants into the park from the industrialized region around Puget Sound and the Fraser River Valley of British Columbia. These pollutants deposit onto plants and glaciers and are then carried by rainfall or ice melt and dispersed into rivers and lakes. The industrialized regions around Puget Sound and the Fraser River Valley have had a more noticeable negative impact on water and air quality than at Mount Rainier National Park well to the south due to the prevailing winds. Lakes at higher elevations show a higher level of acidity due to this phenomenon; the current and long-term impact on the ecosystem of the park has not yet been fully assessed.
Air and water quality thumb|Air quality in North Cascades National Park is generally consid?ered good and aside from some reduced clarity due to haze, even distant peaks are easily seen most days.|alt=A distant mountain range above a diagonal slope of forest. While North Cascades National Park is in a remote region for the most part, the prevailing westerly winds bring various pollutants into the park from the industrialized region around Puget Sound and the Fraser R.iver Valley of British Columbia These pollutants deposit onto plants and glaciers and are then carried by rainfall or ice melt and dispersed into rivers and lakes. The industrialized regio?ns around Puget So,und and the Fraser River Valley have had a more n:oticeable negative impact on water and air quality than at Mount Rainier National Park well to the south due to the prevailing winds. Lakes at higher elevations show a higher level of acidity due to this phenomenon; the current and long-term impact on the ecosystem of the park has not yet been fully assessed.