Hello Class,
For this week’s travel journal, I
ventured to Mount Hood in the state of Oregon. The mountain stands at 11,237 ft
and is 45 miles southeast of Portland, Oregon. It was created form the “Juan de
Fuca Plate”, this plate collides with the “North American Plate” and created
the Cascadia Subduction Zone. This subduction zone help lead to the creation of
Mt. Hood. Mt. Hood is a composite volcano or stratovolcano, this volcano type is
declared as one of the most dangerous. The reason for this is due to the
generation of explosive eruptions and the ejection of large quantities of gases.
Mt. Hoods last eruption was 1907, this volcano unlike it’s nearby neighbor
Mount St. Helen does not have an explosive or tephra history. Mt. Hood has fast
pyroclastic flows which have traveled roughly 9 miles in recent history, this
is from the lava domes below growing and collapsing.
Just like Mt. Saint Helen, Mt. Hood
has debris avalanches, this is caused from the structure of the volcano itself,
when it erupts it causes parts to become displaced then cause a mudslide that
moves down the mountain. The last lahars were 1,500 years ago which lead the
creation of “crater rock” at the peak of the mountain. In recent times Mt. Hood
has remained quiet with no activity, but steam vents help route the heat from
below the surface which can bee seen from the south side of the mountain where
you can see “crater rock”. This reminder is showing us that lava is very well
below the surface. The likelihood if Mt. Hood erupting again is there but it is
not dangerous in anyway to nearby towns. The lava flow will be unable to reach Oregon
and light ash fall may spread but will not cause harm. For local living at the
base of the Mountain they are in a hazard zone for lahar which has been recorded
at moving up to 40 miles an hour at Mt. Hood.
References:
Mount Hood – History and Hazards of Oregon’s most
Recently Active Volcano. (2010) Received From: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2000/fs060-00/
Mount Hood (North and South Flank). (2010). Received
From: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2000/fs060-00/
Respectfully,
Derek Bryant
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