This week, we head over to the North West side of North
America to explore Cascade Mountains. This area is created by the colliding of the
oceanic Juan de Fuca plate and the North American plate, which has created a
convergent boundary between the two plates. This has caused the north west’s
portion of the Ring of Fire, causing several earthquakes and the eruption of
volcanoes along that north west side of the United States, including Mount St.
Helens.
The convergence of the two plates (USGS)
The kinds of faults that we would find throughout the area are
reverse faults. The collision has caused the creation several volcanoes within
the area, such as Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens and Lassen Peak. Rock typically
found in the area are igneous rocks created thanks to the volcanoes of the
area.
Mt. Hood as seen from Portland (USGS)
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