A while back I posted on the Hidden Journeys project and a journey along the cascades. Today I thought I would put a brief post up with a little about the region and on one of the volcanoes which isnt talked about as much - Mount Hood.
The volcanoes of the cascades arise because of the subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate beneath its North American counterpart. From Mount Baker in the north to Crater Lake in the south the hazards these volcanoes pose are assessed by the Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) across the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The remaining volcanoes to the south are assessed by the California Volcano Observatory (CalVO) In general, the research focus has centred on St. Helens due to the large amount of available and collected data as well as its relative ease of access. However there are many other important volcanoes in the area which shouldn't be forgotten!
The volcanoes of the cascades arise because of the subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate beneath its North American counterpart. From Mount Baker in the north to Crater Lake in the south the hazards these volcanoes pose are assessed by the Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) across the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The remaining volcanoes to the south are assessed by the California Volcano Observatory (CalVO) In general, the research focus has centred on St. Helens due to the large amount of available and collected data as well as its relative ease of access. However there are many other important volcanoes in the area which shouldn't be forgotten!
A USGS graphic to show the locations of the major volcanoes in the Cascades and when they have erupted.
Image Courtesy of NASA: Mount Hood
Mount Hood, pictured to the right, hasnt erupted since 1865 (although there are a couple of uncertain eruptions after this with the latest in 1907). Even though it hasnt erupted for over 100 years it still shows signs of activity from time to time - with events such as earthquake swarms beneath or near to the volcano and the instability of its slopes. A recent seismic swarm in 2002 allerted scientists to the possibility of volcanic unrest, however a study by Jones and Malone suggested that this earthquake was related to tectonic forces. Although they also stated that earthquakes situated directly below the summit could arise from volcanic unrest.
For a good, brief overview of the Cascades and some of the volcanology/volcanoes of the region, I have attached the video from the Hidden Journeys project to my website which is worth a quick listen.
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