NATURE’S EXPLOSIVE BEAUTY

Out in the Pacific Ocean near Mendocino, there is massive rock movement called a subduction zone. The earth’s crust is composed of massive plates and when an oceanic plate meets a continental plate a subduction zone may occur. What is so special about this zone? The oceanic plate is pushed deep into the bowels of the earth forming magma of molten lava rock. When this happens the molten rock is pushed upwards through the earth’s crust and a volcanic mountain range is formed. One such range is the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest. This range covers over 700 miles, from Northern California to Southern British Columbia, and is best known for its snowcapped peaks.

The major peaks of the Cascade Range are: California – Lassen Peak and Mount Shasta (photo below); Oregon – Middle Sister, Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, North Sister and South Sister; Washington – Bonanza Peak, Glacier Peak, Mount Adams, Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helen and Mount Stuart. These mountains receive heavy winter snowfall, have extensive glaciers, and are notorious for having low clouds and heavy warm weather rain showers. Many of these peaks are incorporated into National Forests, National Monuments, National Parks and National Recreational Areas.

Lassen Peak is one of the two active volcanoes in the mountain range. Lassen Peak’s most recent eruption started in 1914. There was a series of 150 eruptions ending in 1917 when the volcano became dormant. Lassen Peak is part of Lassen Volcanic National Park. The other active volcano is Mt. St. Helen. After a century of being dormant, Mount St. Helen had a series of violent eruptions in 1980. Today 85,000 acres are set-aside as Mount St. Helen National Volcanic Monument. There you can witness how nature heals itself firsthand. If you are really adventurous, you can climb to the summit and look down into the lava dome.