Week 6 - Siskiyou County

Heading into the Klamath Mountain Province

Mt. Shasta

It really doesn't get much more beautiful than Northern California, between the towering Redwoods and the spanning Cascades. We spent several days on the trails alone, which were utilized by the local Native American tribes and later extended by the gold miners. There are so many things to see that it could take years to truly experience everything.

Klamath Mountains

The Klamath Mountains are split into sever belts, the eastern Paleozoic belt, the central metamorphic belt, the western Paleozoic and Triassic belt, and the western Jurassic belt. In the Eastern Paleozoic belt, you can find eugeosynclinal clastic sediments and volcanic rock that age between the Paleozoic and Jurassic era. The central metamorphic rock contains mostly schist and it's age is Devonian. The largest unit, the western Paleozoic and Triassic belt, is made up clastic sedimentary rocks, chert, mafic volcanic rocks, and marble and dates late Paleozoic to Late Triassic. That said, the exact age is hard to determine and there are scarce amounts of fossils in this belt. Finally, the western Jurassic belt is consists of slate and graywacke, placed in the late Jurassic era.

Mossbrae Falls

I would like to see seismic readings of the area, due to the faulting in the plates in this area. Any readings into deep volcanic activity would also be helpful in ascertaining the level of activity (if any) in this region. With as much volcano rock in the Paleozoic belt, I would bet that their is important context that can be had. Also, I'd like to see more records into the western Paleozoic and Triassic belt, as it has seemingly been difficult to age. While I am no expert, I wonder what the exact nature of this belt is, which seems to defy testing.