Mount Hood

This article is about the highest mountain in Oregon. For the nearby community, see Mount Hood, Oregon. For other uses, see Mount Hood (disambiguation).

Mount Hood
Mount Hood reflected in Mirror Lake
Highest point
Elevation11,249 ft (3,429 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence7,706 ft (2,349 m)[2]
Listing
Coordinates45°22′25″N 121°41′45″W / 45.37361°N 121.69583°W / 45.37361; -121.69583[1]
Geography
Location relative to other Oregon volcanoes
LocationClackamas / Hood River counties, Oregon, U.S.
Parent rangeCascade Range
Topo mapUSGS Mount Hood South
Geology
Rock ageMore than 500,000 years[3]
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Volcanic arcCascade Volcanic Arc
Last eruption21 September 1865 to January 1866[4]
Climbing
First ascentJuly 11, 1857, by Henry Pittock, W. Lymen Chittenden, Wilbur Cornell, and the Rev. T. A. Wood[5]
Easiest routeRock and glacier climb

Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about 50 mi (80 km) east-southeast of Portland, on the border between Clackamas and Hood River counties, and forms part of the Mount Hood National Forest. Much of the mountain outside the ski areas is part of the Mount Hood Wilderness. With a summit elevation of 11,249 ft (3,429 m),[1] it is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the fourth highest in the Cascade Range.[6] Ski areas on the mountain include Timberline Lodge ski area which offers the only year-round lift-served skiing in North America, Mount Hood Meadows, Mount Hood Skibowl, Summit Ski Area, and Cooper Spur ski area. Mt. Hood attracts an estimated 10,000 climbers a year.[7]

The peak is home to 12 named glaciers and snowfields. Mount Hood is considered the Oregon volcano most likely to erupt.[8] The odds of an eruption in the next 30 years are estimated at between 3 and 7%, so the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) characterizes it as "potentially active", but the mountain is informally considered dormant.[9]

  1. ^ a b c "Mount Hood Highest Point". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  2. ^ "Mount Hood, Oregon". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
  3. ^ "Mount Hood–History and Hazards of Oregon's Most Recently Active Volcano". U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 060-00. U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Forest Service. 2005-06-13. Archived from the original on 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  4. ^ "Hood". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  5. ^ "Glaciers of Oregon". Glaciers of the American West. Archived from the original on 2010-10-03. Retrieved 2007-02-24. quoting McNeil, Fred H. (1937). Wy'east the Mountain, A Chronicle of Mount Hood. Hillsboro, Oregon: Metropolitan Press. OCLC 191334118.
  6. ^ Swanson, D.A.; et al. (1989). "Mount Hood, Oregon". Cenozoic Volcanism in the Cascade Range and Columbia Plateau, Southern Washington and Northernmost Oregon: AGU Field Trip Guidebook T106, July 3–8, 1989. U.S. Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 1999-02-03. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
  7. ^ "Climbing Mt. Hood". United States Forest Service. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  8. ^ Most likely to erupt based on history; see James S. Aber. "Volcanism of the Cascade Mountains". GO 326/ES 767. Emporia State University. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  9. ^ Scott, W.E.; Pierson, T.C.; Schilling, S.P.; Costa, J.E.; Gardner, C.A.; Vallance, J.W.; Major, J.J. (1997). "Volcano Hazards in the Mount Hood Region, Oregon". Open-File Report 97-89. U.S. Geological Survey, Cascades Volcano Observatory. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02.