Lassen Peak and Mount St Helens Comparison

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Lassen Peak and Mount St Helens Comparison National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Lassen Volcanic National Park Lassen Peak and Mount St. Helens Comparison Similarities Differences Both volcanoes: • Mount St. Helens did not have extruded lava • Involve a series of explosions, which took place over a • Lassen produced three craters, Mount St. Helens produced few months time. two. • Sent at least one major eruption of gas and ash to • Lassen has a main lava and mudflow on May 19 prior to the great heights. great explosive eruption on May 22. • Produced an acidic dacite ash. • Lassen’s explosive action was not as wide as the mudflow. • Produced steam deposits of ash, which trailed out • The width of blow down on Lassen was only 1 ½ mile wide. about 30 miles. • Timber destroyed by flow of explosive blast at Mount St. • Resulted in a display of countless logs, which lay in Helens was 1 billion board feet verses 4.5 million board feet rows pointing away from the explosive hot blast. at Lassen. • Were snow-covered and mudflows were fed by the • Melted snow is considered a major source of mudlflow in snowmelt. Lassen’s eruption. • Released ash into the air where it traveled in • A cloud rose 5 miles high from Lassen, and 12 miles high quantities for at least 100 miles. above Mount St. Helens. • Caused reduced visibility for many days. • Eruptions lasted four years at Lassen, eruptions began in • Produced small craters scattered over the area due to March 1980 at Mount St. Helens and are continuing. stream, ash, or lave chunks. Lassen was the only one • Mud marks on trees reached 6 ½ feet high at Lassen. with lave chunks, also known as hot rocks. • Had domes form in one or more vents. Mount St. Helens is still temporary as far as a prevention of further eruption is concerned. .
Recommended publications
  • Area Adventure Hat Creek Ranger District Lassen National Forest
    Area Adventure Hat Creek Ranger District Lassen National Forest Welcome The following list of recreation activities are avail- able in the Hat Creek Recreation Area. For more detailed information please stop by the Old Station Visitor Information Center, open April - December, or our District Office located in Fall River Mills. Give Hat Creek Rim Overlook - Nearly 1 million years us a call year-around Mon.- Fri. at (530) 336-5521. ago, active faulting gradually dropped a block of Enjoy your visit to this very interesting country. the Earth’s crust (now Hat Creek Valley) 1,000 feet below the top of the Hat Creek Rim, leaving behind Subway Cave - See an underground cave formed this large fault scarp. This fault system is still “alive by flowing lava. Located just off Highway 89, 1/4 and cracking”. mile north of Old Station junction with Highway 44. The lava tube tour is self guided and the walk is A heritage of the Hat Creek area’s past, it offers mag- 1/3 mile long. Bring a lantern or strong flashlight nificent views of Hat Creek Valley, Lassen Peak, as the cave is not lighted. Sturdy Shoes and a light Burney Mountain, and, further away, Mt. Shasta. jacket are advisable. Subway Cave is closed during the winter months. Fault Hat Creek Rim Fault Scarp Vertical movement Hat Creek V Cross Section of a Lava Tube along this fault system alley dropped this block of earth into its present position Spattercone Trail - Walk a nature trail where volca- nic spattercones and other interesting geologic fea- tures may be seen.
    [Show full text]
  • Geologic Gems of California's State Parks
    STATE OF CALIFORNIA – EDMUND G. BROWN JR., GOVERNOR NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY – JOHN LAIRD, SECRETARY CALIFORNIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION – LISA MANGAT, DIRECTOR JOHN D. PARRISH, Ph.D., STATE GEOLOGIST DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION – DAVID BUNN, DIRECTOR PLATE 1 The rugged cliffs of Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park are composed of some of California’s Bio-regions the most tortured, twisted, and mobile rocks of the North American continent. The California’s Geomorphic Provinces rocks are mostly buried beneath soils and covered by vigorous redwood forests, which thrive in a climate famous for summer fog and powerful winter storms. The rocks only reveal themselves in steep stream banks, along road and trail cut banks, along the precipitous coastal cliffs and offshore in the form of towering rock monuments or sea stacks. (Photograph by CalTrans staff.) Few of California’s State parks display impressive monoliths adorned like a Patrick’s Point State Park displays a snapshot of geologic processes that have castle with towering spires and few permit rock climbing. Castle Crags State shaped the face of western North America, and that continue today. The rocks Park is an exception. The scenic beauty is best enjoyed from a distant exposed in the seacliffs and offshore represent dynamic interplay between the vantage point where one can see the range of surrounding landforms. The The Klamath Mountains consist of several rugged ranges and deep canyons. Klamath/North Coast Bioregion San Joaquin Valley Colorado Desert subducting oceanic tectonic plate (Gorda Plate) and the continental North American monolith and its surroundings are a microcosm of the Klamath Mountains The mountains reach elevations of 6,000 to 8,000 feet.
    [Show full text]
  • Lassen Volcanic National Park
    LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK • CALIFORNIA • UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RATIONAL PARK SERVICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HAROLD L. ICKES, Secretary NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ARNO B. CAMMERER, Director LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK CALIFORNIA SEASON FROM JUNE 1 TO SEPTEMBER IS UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1934 RULES AND REGULATIONS The park regulations are designed for the protection of the natural beauties as well as for the comfort and convenience of visitors. The com­ plete regulations may be seen at the office of the superintendent of the park. The following synopsis is for the general guidance of visitors, who are requested to assist in the administration of the park by observing CONTENTS the rules. PAGE Automobiles.—Many sharp unexpected curves exist on the Lassen Peak Loop Highway, and fast driving—over 25 miles per hour in most places—is GEOLOGIC HISTORY 2 dangerous. Drive slowly, keeping always well to the right, and enjoy the THE ANCIENT BROKEOFF CRATER 5 scenery. Specimens and souvenirs.—In order that future visitors may enjoy the SOLFATARAS 6 park unimpaired and unmolested, it is strictly prohibited to break any THE CINDER CONE 8 formation; to take any minerals, lava, pumace, sulphur, or other rock MOUNTAINS 9 specimens; to injure or molest or disturb any animal, bird, tree, flower, or shrub in the park. Driving nails in trees or cutting the bark of trees in OTHER INTERESTING FEATURES I0 camp grounds is likewise prohibited and strictly enforced. Dead wood WILD ANIMALS :: may be gathered for camp fires. Trash.—Scraps of paper, lunch refuse, orange peelings, kodak cartons, FISHING :4 chewing-gum wrappers, and similar trash scattered along the roads and CAMPING r5 trails and camp grounds and parking areas are most objectionable and unsightly.
    [Show full text]
  • 51 SEVEN LAKES BASIN Here's The
    Castle Lake and Mount Shasta from near Heart Lake (Photo by John R. Soares) mostly level as you continue, bringing you to Peak, Magee Peak, and numerous other Cascade the spine of Mount Bradley Ridge at 3 miles. A volcanoes lead to Mount Shasta, with Mount Eddy 0.2-mile scamper northeast (left) brings you to a to the west of the largest California volcano. knob with the best views. If you want more hiking, continue farther Look south at the immediate prospect of serrated toward Mount Bradley or hike the 0.5 mile path granite crests of Castle Crags. Eastward Lassen that skirts the east side of Castle Lake. SEVEN LAKES BASIN 51 Length: 6 miles round-trip Hiking time: 5 hours or 2 days High point: 6,825 feet Total elevation gain: 1,400 feet Difficulty: moderate Season: early June through late October Water: available only at Seven Lakes Basin (purify first); bring your own Maps: USGS 7.5’ Mumbo Basin, USGS 7.5’ Seven Lakes Basin Information: Mount Shasta Ranger Station, Shasta–Trinity National Forest 122 Seven Lakes Basin • 123 6850' One-way spires of the Trinity Alps to the west, with for- 6800' 6750' ested mountains filling in the northerly and 6700' southerly views. 6650' Travel south, undulating gently along the 6600' 6550' spine of the ridge, occasionally shaded by a Jef- 6500' frey pine, western white pine, red fir, or white fir. 6450' 6400' Note the various flowers, including blue lupines 6350' and yellow sulfur flowers. 6300' 6250' The first decent campsite appears on the left at 6200' 0.3 mile, followed by the inaugural view of Mount 0 mile 1.5 3.0 Shasta, with Mount Eddy and Gumboot Lake com- ThisHike 51.
    [Show full text]
  • Location Option Details
    Student Page Location Option Details 1. Florida k Florida has the smallest number of earthquakes in the United States. k Florida is the U.S. location where hurricanes are most frequent. k Of the six deadliest hurricanes to hit the continental U.S., three have hit Florida. k Between 1900 and 1995, Florida experienced both the most major (24) and the most overall (57) hurricanes of any state in the United States. k About half the hurricanes to strike southern Florida are major ones. k No point in Florida is more than 100 miles from the coast; therefore, all areas are at risk of hurricane damage. k From July 1995 through June 1996, Florida experienced 35 tornadoes, 32 floods, and three hurricanes. k In February 1998, devastating tornadoes swept through central Florida, killing at least 43 people and destroying many homes and other buildings. k In 2004, four hurricanes and one tropical storm hit Florida. This was the first time Florida encountered four hurricanes in one season since 1851. The pre-Hurricane Charley aerial photo on the left was taken several days following the passage of 2001’s Tropi- cal Storm Gabrielle. Note the two relatively small breaches in the central part of the island. On August 13, 2004, Hurricane Charley carved the 450-m-wide breach that is shown in the right photo. From U.S. Geological Survey. continues on next page ©Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. Decision Making 129 Student Page Location Option Details continued 2. California k California is the state with the most damaging earthquakes. k Giant earthquakes on faults, such as the San Andreas, tend to occur every few hundred years; therefore, an earthquake like the one in 1906 (magnitude 7.8) is not likely to occur in northern California for at least 100 years.
    [Show full text]
  • High-Elevation Five Needle Pine Cone Collections in California and Nevada
    High-elevation white pine cone collections from the Great Basin of Nevada, California, & Utah on National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, National Park, and State lands, 2009 – 2013. Collected 40-50 cones/tree. 2009 (all on NFS land): 3 sites # trees Schell Creek Range, Cave Mtn., NV Pinus longaeva 100 Spring Mtns., Lee Canyon, NV Pinus longaeva 100 White Mtns., Boundary Peak, NV Pinus longaeva 100 2010 (all on NFS land except as noted): 7 sites Carson Range, Mt. Rose, NV Pinus albicaulis 23 Hawkins Peak, CA Pinus albicaulis 26 Luther Creek, CA Pinus lambertiana 15 Monitor Pass, CA Pinus lambertiana 25 Pine Forest Range, NV [BLM] Pinus albicaulis 20 Sweetwater Mtns., NV Pinus albicaulis 20 Wassuk Range, Corey Pk., NV [BLM] Pinus albicaulis 25 2011 (all on NFS land except as noted): 13 sites Fish Creek Range, NV [BLM] Pinus flexilis 25 Fish Creek Range, NV [BLM] Pinus longaeva 25 Grant Range, NV Pinus flexilis 25 Highland Range, NV [BLM] Pinus longaeva 25 Independence Mtns., NV Pinus albicaulis 17 Jarbidge Mtns., NV Pinus albicaulis 25 Pequop Mtns., NV [BLM] Pinus longaeva 25 Ruby Mtns., Lamoille Canyon, NV Pinus albicaulis 25 Ruby Mtns., Lamoille Canyon, NV Pinus flexilis 20 Schell Creek Range, Cave Mtn., NV Pinus flexilis 25 Sweetwater Mtns., NV Pinus flexilis 25 White Pine Range, Mt. Hamilton, NV Pinus flexilis 25 White Pine Range, Mt. Hamilton, NV Pinus longaeva 25 2012 (all on NFS land except as noted): 9 sites Black Mountain, Inyo NF, CA Pinus longaeva 23 Carson Range, LTBMU, NV Pinus albicaulis 25 Egan Range, Toiyabe NF, NV Pinus longaeva 25 Emma Lake, Toiyabe NF, CA Pinus albicaulis 25 Happy Valley, Fishlake NF, UT Pinus longaeva 25 Inyo Mtns., Tamarack Canyon, CA Pinus longaeva 25 Leavitt Lake, Toiyabe NF, CA Pinus albicaulis 25 Mt.
    [Show full text]
  • Buy This Book
    Excerpted from buy this book © by the Regents of the University of California. Not to be reproduced without publisher’s written permission. INTRODUCTION This book is an attempt to present to general readers not Panamint Range, because for the most part the wildflower trained in taxonomic botany, but interested in nature and seeker does not travel in the desert in summer. their surroundings, some of the wildflowers of the California mountains in such a way that they can be identified without technical knowledge. Naturally, these are mostly summer The California Mountains wildflowers, together with a few of the more striking species that bloom in spring and fall. They are roughly those from the In general, the mountains of California consist of two great yellow pine belt upward through the red fir and subalpine series of ranges: an outer, the Coast Ranges; and an inner, the forests to the peaks above timberline. Obviously, the 286 Sierra Nevada and the southern end of the Cascade Range, in- plants presented cannot begin to cover all that occur in so cluding Lassen Peak and Mount Shasta.The Sierra Nevada,an great an altitudinal range, especially when the geographical immense granitic block 400 miles long and 50 to 80 miles limits of the pine belt are considered. wide, extends from Plumas County to Kern County. It is no- Mention of the pine belt in California mountains will nat- table for its display of cirques, moraines, lakes, and glacial val- urally cause you to think of the Sierra Nevada, but of course leys and has its highest point at Mount Whitney at 14,495 feet this belt also extends into the southern Cascade Range (Mount above sea level.
    [Show full text]
  • Time-Scale and Mechanism of Subsidence at Lassen Volcanic Center, CA, from Insar
    Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 320 (2016) 117–127 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvolgeores Time-scale and mechanism of subsidence at Lassen Volcanic Center, CA, from InSAR Amy L. Parker a,⁎,1,2,JulietBiggsa,1,ZhongLub a School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK b Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, United States article info abstract Article history: Observations of volcanic subsidence have contributed to our understanding of the eruption cycle, hydrothermal Received 2 November 2015 systems and the formation of continental crust. Lassen Volcanic Center is one of two volcanoes in the southern Received in revised form 1 April 2016 Cascades known to have subsided in recent decades, but the onset, temporal evolution, and cause of subsidence Accepted 11 April 2016 remain unconstrained. Here we use multiple sets of InSAR data, each corrected using the North American Region- Available online 16 April 2016 al Reanalysis atmospheric model, to determine the temporal and spatial characteristics of deformation between 1992 and 2010. Throughout this period all datasets reveal subsidence of a broad, 30–40 km wide region at rates of ~10 mm/yr. Evaluating past geodetic studies we suggest that subsidence may have been ongoing since the 1980s, before which it is unlikely that significant ground deformation occurred. By combining multiple tracks of InSAR data we find that the ratio of horizontal to vertical displacements is high (up to 3:1), and source inversions favour a point source located at ~8 km depth.
    [Show full text]
  • CURRICULUM VITAE, Francisco L. Pérez (Revised August, 2011)
    CURRICULUM VITAE, Francisco L. Pérez (revised August, 2011) Professor, and Director, Soils Laboratory, Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas 78712, USA. (512) 471-5116, FAX: (512) 471-5049. E-mail: [email protected] Place of Birth: Jumilla (Murcia), Spain. Citizenship and Residence: USA resident (Immigrant Visa), July 1978 - June 2008. American citizen since June 2008. Education: - B. Architecture, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, July 1973. - M.L.A. in Environmental Design and Planning, University of California (Berkeley), June 1976. - Ph.D. student, University of Oregon (Eugene), Sept 1978-June 1979 (no degree earned). - Ph.D. Wildland Resource Science (focus on Plant Ecology and Geomorphology), University of California (Berkeley), July 1985. Academic and Professional Work Experience: 1. Independent Architect and City Planner, Caracas (Venezuela), August 1973-July 1974. 2. Environmental Planner, Stoddart & Tábora Co., Caracas (Venezuela) July 1976-Dec. 1978. 3. Environmental Impact Division, Venezuelan Ministry of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (MARNR), Caracas (Venezuela), January 1978-July 1978. 4. Assistant Professor, School of Architecture and City Planning, Department of Environmental Science, Universidad Central de Venezuela (Caracas), Venezuela, August 1976 -July 1978. 5. Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department of Geography, University of Oregon (Eugene), Spring 1979 6. Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Forestry and Resource Management, University of California (Berkeley), Winter 1980. 7. Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of California (Berkeley), Spring 1981 and 1983. 8. Except those quarters listed above, I was Research Assistant for Prof. Joe R. McBride, at the Department of Forestry and Resource Management, University of California (Berkeley), between August 1979 and July 1985.
    [Show full text]
  • Lassen National Forest Backcountry Discovery Trail! Know Before You Go
    Get Ready to Explore! Drive 187 miles of unparalleled beauty. Discover a geological playground. Hike to alpine snowfields. Relax at quiet lakes while raptors soar overhead. Trace the footsteps of Gold Rush emigrants. Discover the heritage of northern California. Welcome to the Lassen National Forest Backcountry Discovery Trail! Know Before You Go The Lassen Backcountry Discovery Trail was established to invite exploration of the remote areas of the Lassen backcountry. The Trail generally follows gravel and dirt roads and is intended for high clearance street- legal vehicles. Expect rough road conditions and slow travel through remote country. Be prepared for downed trees or rocks on the road. Much of the route is under snow in the winter Volcanic views and early spring. There are no restaurants, grocery stores, or gas stations along the main route and cell phone coverage is intermittent. Introduction ~ ~ Stay Current Off-road motor vehicle travel is prohibited in the Lassen National Forest; please stay on designated routes. Call any forest office for updated road condition and project work information that may affect your travel plans. Periodic updates to the Trail maps in this Guide may occur to reflect changes in vehicle use or other revisions. Map updates and other Lassen Backcountry Discovery Trail information may be found at: www.fs.fed.us/r5/lassen/ Your Planning Checklist Lassen National Forest Visitor Map Adequate food, water, and fuel Friends to share the fun, and assist in an emergency Insect repellant and first-aid kit Know how to identify poison oak Toilet paper and shovel to bury human waste GPS unit, binoculars, and camera Campfire permit if you plan to use a fire, barbecue, or camp stove (available for free at most Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Forestry/Fire Protection offices or fire stations).
    [Show full text]
  • Eruptions of Lassen Peak, California, 1914 to 1917
    Department of the Interior U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY—REDUCING THE RISK FROM VOLCANO HAZARDS A Sight “Fearfully Grand”—Eruptions of Lassen Peak, California, 1914 to 1917 n May 22, 1915, a large explosive Oeruption at the summit of Lassen Peak, California, the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range, devastated nearby areas and rained volcanic ash as far away as 280 miles to the east. This explosion was the most powerful in a series of eruptions during 1914–17 that were the last to occur in the Cascade Range before the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington. A century after the Lassen eruptions, work by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists in cooperation with the National Park Service is shedding new light on these events. Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park, northern California, is the Lassen Peak in northern California produced a series of eruptions during 1914–17. The larg- largest of a group of more than 30 lava domes est of those eruptions, on May 22, 1915, blasted rock fragments and pumice high into the air erupted in that area during the past 300,000 and rained fine volcanic ash as far away as Elko, Nevada, 280 miles (450 km) to the east. This years. These steep-sided accumulations of photograph, taken from the town of Red Bluff, 40 miles (65 km) west of the volcano, shows the volcanic rock were created by the pushing huge eruption column of ash and gas, which rose to a height of more than 30,000 feet (9,000 m). up of lava too viscous to flow away from its (Photograph by R.E.
    [Show full text]
  • Alpine Ecosystems
    TWENTY-NINE Alpine Ecosystems PHILIP W. RUNDEL and CONSTANCE I. MILLAR Introduction Alpine ecosystems comprise some of the most intriguing hab­ writing about the alpine meadows of the Sierra Nevada, felt itats of the world for the stark beauty of their landscapes and his words were inadequate to describe “the exquisite beauty for the extremes of the physical environment that their resi­ of these mountain carpets as they lie smoothly outspread in dent biota must survive. These habitats lie above the upper the savage wilderness” (Muir 1894). limit of tree growth but seasonally present spectacular flo­ ral shows of low-growing herbaceous perennial plants. Glob­ ally, alpine ecosystems cover only about 3% of the world’s Defining Alpine Ecosystems land area (Körner 2003). Their biomass is low compared to shrublands and woodlands, giving these ecosystems only a Alpine ecosystems are classically defined as those communi­ minor role in global biogeochemical cycling. Moreover, spe­ ties occurring above the elevation of treeline. However, defin­ cies diversity and local endemism of alpine ecosystems is rela­ ing the characteristics that unambiguously characterize an tively low. However, alpine areas are critical regions for influ­ alpine ecosystem is problematic. Defining alpine ecosystems encing hydrologic flow to lowland areas from snowmelt. based on presence of alpine-like communities of herbaceous The alpine ecosystems of California present a special perennials is common but subject to interpretation because case among alpine regions of the world. Unlike most alpine such communities may occur well below treeline, while other regions, including the American Rocky Mountains and the areas well above treeline may support dense shrub or matted European Alps (where most research on alpine ecology has tree cover.
    [Show full text]