Not Dead . . . Just Sleeping! - Mt. Shasta VP - California
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 41° 37.018 W 122° 12.093
10T E 566521 N 4607557
Geologic history sign at the Mt. Shasta Vista Point along U.S. Hwy. 97.
Waymark Code: WMFNX5
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 11/10/2012
Views: 1
One of a group of five Caltrans signs at the Mt. Shasta Vista Point on U.S. Hwy. 97. Geologic history sign about several topics including the giant 300,000 year old landslide.
Text of Sign: The slumbering giant you see before you is in reality, quite active and unpredictable. It is certain to erupt again. Climbers on Mount Shasta can see and smell the evidence of a living volcano. Climbing upward, adventurers will notice the occasional whiff of rotten eggs becoming more frequent. This is caused by sulphuric gases escaping from within the earth through underground vents called fumaroles. Nearer the summit, climbers may witness a boiling acidic hot spring. This is caused by rainwater and snowmelt seeping into the volcano and then becoming heated and chemically changed by volcanic energy.
Mount Shasta’s activity is monitored in several ways. Seismometers on and around the mountain continuously record activity. The temperature and chemistry of hot springs and fumaroles are regularly tracked and evaluated. Even the ever-changing shape of the mountain is recorded!
The Largest Known Landslide on Earth
Roughly 300,000 years ago Mount Shasta erupted with so much power that it collapsed and shattered apart, creating a gigantic landslide that reached over 25 miles long.
Use your investigative skills and follow the evidence as you travel throughout the area!
Ten miles south of here along Highway 97, look for unusual patterns of low hills and closed basins. These features were caused by individual blocks and debris that were carried away by this spectacular event. The visible remains of the 300,000 year phenomenon illustrates the strength and far reaching effects of this landslide-known as the largest on earth.
Metamorphic Rocks of the Klamath Mountains
A recipe to make metamorphic rock would probably look something like this:
Mix solidified molten magma (Igneous Rock) with solidified sediment (Sedimentary Rock). Bury them deep within the earth and apply intense heat and pressure for thousands of years. Remove and cool.
Mount Eddy and the Klamath Mountains were born 5 million years ago, long before Mount Shasta and the volcanos of the Cascade Range. Here, the earth was uplifted, exposing metamorphic rocks from far inside the earth’s crust. Some of these rocks are over 470 million years old!
Just how Big is Mt. Shasta?
Mount Shasta rises 10,000 feet above the Shasta Valley to its summit at 14,162 feet above sea level.
Group that erected the marker: Caltrans and Forest Service
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Mt. Shasta Vista Point
U.S. Hwy. 97California United States
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