#Cascade Volcanoes

[climbhighsleeplow]

Mount Rainier (Tahoma), 14,410 feet

[bettergeology]

(Lava) Bomb on the Mountain (volcano)

South Sister is Oregon's 3rd tallest peak. It's a stratovolcano 10,363 ft (3,158 m) tall, part of the Three Sisters complex which includes dozens of smaller volcanoes and several older eroded mountains.

The upper 2,000 feet or so (~650 m) is a 20,000 year-old cinder cone, the result of a fire-fountain-type eruption of lava. One of the common features of that style of eruption are lava bombs - chunks of liquid lava flung through the air that cool in streamlined and elongated shapes. The upper flank of the mountain is very steep, and makes for slow climbing through cinders. Slope pitches average 30˚ in this area, and get as high as 58˚!

Perched at random on this slope is probably the largest lava bomb I've ever seen! It's probably about a meter across and shows the streamlined, elongated nature of a bomb very well. I'm not sure why it's still sitting at that precarious location, but up close you can see the vesicular texture of erupted lava (basaltic andesite). This might be classified (yes, there are sub-classifications of lava bombs - geologists love classifications!) as a breadcrust bomb because it looks almost like a crusty bread with cracked crust. These are very common on volcanoes like this. It's hard to see in this picture, but amidst the vesicles (bubbles) in the rock are numerous plagioclase feldspar crystals ~0.5-1 mm across.

Anyway, volcanoes are cool.

[downfalldestiny]

Tumpak Sewu, also known as the

"Thousand Waterfalls,"

is a maiestic natural wonder nestled in the enchanting region of East Java, Indonesia. Located near the slopes of Mount Semeru, the highest volcano on the island of Java, Tumpak Sewu is a breathtaking cascade of waterfalls that captivates visitors with its sheer beauty and grandeur 🌲🌊 !.

[frommylimitedtravels]

Finally got back to the mountain

Mt. Rainier National Park

[twoseparatecoursesmeet]

Mount Baker with Steam Plume, 2001

[mountrainiernps]

Mount Rainier is a type of volcano called a stratovolcano. Over the past half million years, Mount Rainier has erupted again and again, alternating between quiet lava-producing eruptions and explosive debris-producing eruptions. The eruptions built up layer after layer of lava and loose rubble, eventually forming the tall cone that characterizes stratovolcanoes. The most recent eruption cycle ended about 1,000 years ago, but Mount Rainier is still considered an active volcano.

Mount Rainier is one of several volcanoes along the Cascade Range. Learn more about volcanoes across the National Park Service at https://go.nps.gov/NPSVolcanoes

Mount Rainier is an active volcano with the potential for future eruptions, but eruptions do not happen without warning. The USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) carefully monitors Mount Rainier and other Cascade Range volcanoes. Follow the link for Current Alerts for U.S. Volcanos and click the "CVO" tab for Cascade Range volcano updates: https://www.usgs.gov/programs/VHP/volcano-updates#cvo

NPS/D. Thompson photo of the summit rim of Mount Rainier with the volcanic peaks of Mount Adams and Mount Hood in the distance.

[postingcards]

real photo postcards of mckenzie pass, which cuts through the large lava field between north sister and mt. washington in central oregon. ca. 1930s

[chaptertwo-thepacnw]

mount rainier |2024|

[the-wandering-astronautt]

Mount Rainier, Washington

Mount Rainier, standing at 14,411 feet, is the tallest peak in the Cascade Range and a stunning symbol of Washington State's natural beauty. Renowned for its majestic snow-capped summit and diverse ecosystems, the mountain is a popular destination for hikers, climbers, and nature enthusiasts. Its glacial landscapes provide breathtaking views, while the surrounding national park is home to vibrant wildflower meadows, dense forests, and an array of wildlife. Mount Rainier is not only a geological marvel but also a cherished landmark that draws visitors from around the world.

Original photo by topher8484 on Instagram, stylised by The Wandering Astronaut. Medium: Photography, photo editing.

If you like my style, I'm always happy to accept commisions! I can edit any photo you want in the style seen above :) Feel free to get in touch!

Thanks for stopping by!

🏔🌄❤️

[dinosaurwithablog]

These are the Cascade Mountains!! I love these mountains!! They include my favorite active volcano, Mt. Baker. As I drove to Whidbey Island today, I couldn't get a good shot of Mt. Baker, but I did get these photos of the Cascade Mountains!! Aren't they beautiful? They're getting all snowy!! I love that!! 💙🤍💙

[rabbitcruiser]

Jagged

What do you think about my pic?

[climbhighsleeplow]

Beautiful Mount Adams, Yakima County

[bettergeology]

The Big Obsidian Flow is the youngest lava flow in Oregon, at the juvenescent age of ~1,300 years before present. It's a product of the most recent eruption of Newberry Volcano, the largest in the Cascade Range north of the California border (Medicine Lake Volcano is the largest overall). Newberry is a bit enigmatic - it's a huge volcano with a high rate of large eruptions but is not on the main Cascade volcanic arc. There's a number of converging fault zones in this area, which probably create significant crustal weakness allowing magma to percolate through the crust quickly.

Obsidian is common in lava flows of the rhyolitic composition, which is the most evolved kind of magma. Rhyolite magma spends lots of time spent in the crust for crustal rocks to contaminate the magma body and for heavier iron/magnesium-rich minerals to settle out, leaving behind a melt with over 68% silica (quartz). Silica is the same stuff regular glass is made of, so the higher your silica content then the glassier your lava flow is likely to be on the surface. The bands present in big chunks of obsidian are the result of shearing, differential cooling/composition, and flowing during the lava flow. This is very thick, sticky, viscous lava that doesn't like to flow. As it cools, it breaks rather than bends and turns the lava flow into a moonscape of glass shards and boulders.

The large amount of obsidian at this and other flows around Newberry Volcano is interesting because the volcano is mostly made of basalt - a lava with a near-opposite composition from rhyolite. Akin to Mauna Loa or Iceland, most of Newberry's lava flows form a broad shield more than 60 miles N-S and 30 miles E-W (roughly 100x50 km). The central part of the Volcano is about ten miles (16 km) across and contains a caldera formed when the central summit collapsed ~75,000 years ago. The caldera has been filled by subsequent eruptions and by two lakes separated by a big pumice cone. This means that the volcano produces - simultaneously - a wide range of magma compositions, indicating a complicated and long-lived magmatic system. Hazards from Newberry (to the 200,000 people living on its slopes) are not limited to fluid basalt eruptions that slowly blanket the landscape but also major explosive eruptions. The Big Obsidian Flow is a representative of the latter. Ash and debris from that eruption is found as far away as Idaho, and is many meters deep near the eruption's vent.

[fentonphoto]

Mount Baker peeks through the clouds - 10,781 ft active glacier-covered volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades. @natgeotravel

[frommylimitedtravels]

No reflection, but it's still a wonderful view.

Mt. Rainier from Reflection Lake

[deepenthevoid]

I told my professors that when I graduate next year I’m going to live in the crater of mt rainier and do seismology and volcanology tests so no one has to bother with it. When the occasional hiker decides to visit me I’m going to crawl out of my hut and just stand there, with a shawl around me and a huge staff and just give vague thoughts… “you shouldn’t be here…” *thunder claps*… sighhh maybe I’ll have an animal with me or something but definitely NO PEOPLE. I’m an introverted hermit and I like it that way… maybe that way I can just be myself and be one with nature…