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Researched by Dain K. |
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Project Report
Introduction
The Cascade Range is made up of many different mountains, each one with it’s own characteristics. Mt. Rainier is the biggest and Mt. Saint Helens experienced the most recent eruption. But there is a big problem. People do not know what they’re doing when they clear cut the trees on the mountain. It’s almost destroying nature’s beauty. And I think we should preserve it.
History of Volcanoes
Mars and Venus both had or still have volcanoes. Unlike Mars and Venus, Earth’s surface is very young, only 200 million years old. So there are volcanoes still forming and young which spot the surface of Earth. Usually they go in chains. Some erupt quickly, while others wait for hundreds of years and erupt at the chosen time like an atomic bomb.
Mt. Rainier
Mt. Rainier is huge but geologists think it might have been bigger if glaciers hadn’t scraped away at it so much. But it still is the biggest volcano in the U.S.A. If you want to climb Rainier you’re in for a tough hike. You have to be in great physical shape. About 14,411 people climb it each year. Mt. Rainier is dormant but very much alive. It is expected to erupt in the next 10 years and it is very dangerous. It could destroy thousands of homes and kill many. Right now, as a sign of eminent eruption it shoots out steam and sometimes it has earthquakes. It just goes to show that all volcanoes are dangerous and if you think you’re safe by one you might be wrong.
Mt. Saint Helens
In 1980 Mt. Saint Helens erupted with terrible power. It started with a small earthquake, which triggered the biggest avalanche in history. Then it blew. It caused forests to be flattened within 17 miles of the volcano. Slowly nature is healing. Now Mt. Saint Helens is dormant, not extinct. When my dad and me went to Mt. Saint Helens we were amazed at all the flattened trees. I mean about 50% of the trees there were on the ground flattened. It was amazing how much damage the eruption did. I was also stunned because all the trees were the same age and looked exactly the same. It was a wonderful experience and I am glad I went even though it was a eight hour round trip..
Crater Lake
Crater Lake is an amazing volcano. Containing multi-colored cliffs 2000 feet of the ground, and a very deep lake in its summit. In fact, it is the deepest lake in the U.S, 1932 feet deep. It also has a national park. A long time ago it erupted, the most violent in about the last six to seven thousand years. It was so big it was 50 times bigger than Mt. Saint Helens eruption. In that eruption, the summit blew out creating a huge hole. Over the years it filled up. And that’s how it got its name Crater Lake. In that lake there are over 50 species of plants. It also has a lot of animals. Some of these are rainbow trout, Konkani Salmon, salamanders and crayfish. It is dormant not extinct. One time me and my family went on a motor home trip and we stopped at Crater lakes national park. I was to little to remember but if I was older I’m sure I could have.
Glacier Peak
Glacier Peak is surrounded by thousands of miles of ragged wilderness, including 90 glaciers. One of them is the Chicamin. It is one of the biggest glaciers in the U.S. Glacier Peak is an active volcano, one of the most active in the Cascade Range. A sign that it is active is it has a hot spring at the bottom. Last time it erupted, it blew out enough ash to cover three states.
Mt. Adams
Mt. Adams is a unique mountain. It has the biggest huckleberry fields in the world; it also is the second largest mountain, not in the Cascades, but in the whole world. Even though it is not the tallest of mountains, it has twice the width of Mt. Rainier. There’s more- it is the largest mountain in the world with a fire lookout station on it. But it was abandoned after two years because of thunder and lightning storms. The lookout men almost died one night when the doors hinges melted and it fell in the building. So much for that lookout station.
Mt. Baker
Mt. Baker is freezing; it’s probably the coldest in the Cascades. That is probably because it is the farthest north of all the Cascade Range. It has an annual snowfall per year of 80 feet. It has so much ice and snow that it is completely white. Also when you’re climbing, it might smell bad because it smells like sulphur. You should be careful because there are mudflows all the time as well as steam coming out from the hole in the summit.
Mt. Jefferson
Mt. Jefferson is a calm peaceful mountain. It has high meadows filled with wild flowers and glaciers whose melt water could be what your drinking now. It is named Mt. Jefferson because Thomas Jefferson sponsored the expedition, so an explorer could go off into the unknown. It sure paid off, now he’s got a mountain named after him. But it’s not a very exciting volcano, it‘s extinct. The last time it erupted was 10s of thousands of years ago. So I guess you don’t have to worry about it erupting if you’re on the footpaths, the only way to hike on the whole mountain.
The Three Sisters
The three sisters got their name from an early settler. But their old names aren’t well known. Their names are Hope, Faith, and Charity. But the new names are South Sister, Middle Sister, and the North Sister. All of the sisters have not erupted in the last 300-400 years. But in the area around them, it has been the most acidic, the most for a long time. Geologists think that all The Three Sisters will erupt soon. They’ve erupted so much that they are covered in hard lava, rock, ash, and pumice.
Mt. Hood
Mt. Hood is a mountain that gets climbed a lot. It is second only to Mt. Fuji, in most climbed. A blind man, a man with no legs, and a girl with high heels have climbed it. It is a beautiful hike because it has beautiful flowers and vegetation at the bottom and snow capped glaciers at the top. It’s kind of a surprise it’s climbed so much because it’s really tall. Probably the tallest in Oregon. It is about 10,000 feet in height.
Mt. Shasta
Mt. Shasta is a very weird mountain. It is not a single mountain, it has 4 cones. But the lava overlaps and conceals three of them. People still summit it and they don’t even know they’re climbing four mountains. They get a beautiful hike. With lower elevation come lush green forests, and on the higher slopes there are snow-capped peaks.
The Rain Shadow Effect
The rain shadow effect is when winds blow in moist air from the coast and condenses with dust to make clouds. The clouds blown by the wind float over to the Cascades and most of the time gets trapped on the West side of the mountains and precipitate. They hardly ever make it to the East side. Since it rains so much on the West side, and hardly ever any rain on the East side, there is a huge difference in climate. On the West side there are lush forest with all kinds of vegetation. On the East side there are a few shrubs and some little patches of pine trees. On the West side there are three layers of vegetation. The bottom layer is thick trees (this layer is the most rained on). The middle layer has some trees that can survive colder weather, like Douglas Firs and other kinds of pines. And the top has mostly low growing Alpine plants. As rain falls on the West side, it is dry and sunny in the East. It is amazing that a desert and a lush rainforest can be separated by only a few hundred miles. But that’s the case in the rain shadow effect here in the Cascades.
Conclusion
The Cascade Range is a spectacular example of a prime portion of our planet. It offers a glimpse into the center of the Earth. And it also offers us who live in the Northwest a place to have fun getaways full of beauty and outdoor fun. But with privileges comes responsibility. Don’t you think you could give up a little wood from your fire for more of Nature’s beauty? I want to keep the Cascade Range intact for generations. Don’t you?
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