Indian Heaven is a
polygeneticA polygenetic volcanic field is a volcanic field of scattered volcanic vents. These volcanic fields, containing numerous polygenetic volcanoes, are noted for having more than one eruptive event from the same vent, rather than the more common monogenetic volcanic field. Polygenetic volcanic fields...
volcanic fieldA volcanic field is an area of the Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity. They usually contain 10 to 100 volcanoes, such as cinder cones and are usually in clusters. Lava flows may also occur...
in Washington,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located midway between
Mount St. HelensMount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is south of Seattle, Washington and northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a...
and
Mount AdamsMount Adams is a potentially activestratovolcano in the Cascade Range and the second-highest mountain in the U.S. state of Washington.Adams is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, and is one of the arc's largest volcanoes,...
, and dates from the
PleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
and
HoloceneThe Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
. The field trends north to south and is dominated by seven small
shield volcanoA shield volcano is a type of volcano usually built almost entirely of fluid lava flows. They are named for their large size and low profile, resembling a warrior's shield. This is caused by the highly fluid lava they erupt, which travels farther than lava erupted from more explosive volcanoes...
es that have each erupted only once. (?). Those shields are topped by small spatter and cinder cones. The northernmost peak in the field is Sawtooth Mountain and the southernmost is Red Mountain. The highest point is Lemei Rock at 5925 feet (1,806 m).
Its last volcanic activity produced a large cinder cone and a voluminous
lavaLava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
and
scoriaScoria is a volcanic rock containing many holes or vesicles. It is most generally dark in color , and basaltic or andesitic in composition. Scoria is relatively low in mass as a result of its numerous macroscopic ellipsoidal vesicles, but in contrast to pumice, all scoria has a specific gravity...
flows about 8200 years ago.
About 60 eruptive centers lie on the 30 kilometres (19 mi) long, N10degreesEast-trending, Indian Heaven fissure zone. The 600 square kilometres (232 sq mi) field has a volume of about 100 cubic kilometres (24 cu mi) and forms the western part of a 2000 square kilometres (772 sq mi)
QuaternaryThe Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
basaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
field in the southern Washington Cascades, including the King Mountain fissure zone along which Mount Adams was built.
Notable Vents
| Name |
Elevation |
Location |
Last eruption |
| meters |
feet |
Coordinates |
| Big Lava Bed |
- |
- |
- |
~8150 years ago |
| Bird Mountain |
1,632 |
- |
- |
- |
| Crazy Hills |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| East Crater |
1,614 |
- |
- |
- |
| Gifford Peak |
1,614 |
- |
- |
- |
| Lemei Rock |
1,806 |
- |
- |
- |
| Lone Butte Lone Butte is a tuya in the Indian Heaven volcanic field, Washington, United States. It is also a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire....
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Red Mountain |
1,513 |
- |
- |
- |
| Sawtooth Mountain |
1,632 |
- |
- |
- |
See also
- Cascade Volcanoes
The Cascade Volcanoes are a number of volcanoes in a volcanic arc in western North America, extending from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California, a distance of well over 700 mi ...
- List of volcanoes in the United States of America
- Indian Heaven Wilderness
Indian Heaven Wilderness is a protected area located inside the Gifford Pinchot National Forest of southwestern Washington state. Originally known to the Indians as "Sahalee Tyee," the area has been and remains culturally important to Native Americans...
External links