Silver Star Mountain is an extinct volcano, named for the pattern of five prominent ridges that radiate from the summit in the shape of a star. In 1902, this was the center of the Yacolt Burn, the largest fire in Washington history, which claimed 38 lives and burned over 238,000 acres. The result is a landscape that has resisted natural reforestation for more than a century. Wildflowers and other species of flora that thrive above the timberline elsewhere in Washington are found here despite the relatively low altitude (app. 4,000 feet).