Mountain Vistas......Northwest Cascade Wanderings
I live in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains near Mt. Baker. It’s beautiful country, albeit a bit more humid than I’d like! 😅
The mountain range basically runs north and south through the state of Washington. We are fortunate because you can pretty much hike up our road to a private trail network we have access to, and find yourself seemingly in the middle of nowhere with some spectacular vistas-all without getting in the car to drive to a trailhead!
I asked GROK about the geographical makeup of the Cascades. Here’s what it had to say:
The Cascade Mountains in Washington are a complex geological formation shaped by millions of years of tectonic activity, volcanism, and erosion. Their geological makeup can be summarized as follows:
• Volcanic Rocks: The Cascades are primarily a volcanic arc, formed by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate beneath the North American Plate. This has produced a chain of stratovolcanoes (e.g., Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens) composed of:
• Andesite: The dominant rock type, formed from lava flows and pyroclastic deposits, rich in silica and intermediate in composition.
• Basalt: Found in some areas, especially in older volcanic sequences, with lower silica content.
• Dacite and Rhyolite: Less common, higher-silica rocks associated with explosive eruptions, seen in places like Mount St. Helens.
• Intrusive Igneous Rocks: Beneath the volcanic cover, plutonic rocks like granite and granodiorite form the roots of ancient volcanoes. These are exposed in areas like the North Cascades due to uplift and erosion.
• Metamorphic Rocks: In the North Cascades, older rocks (pre-Tertiary) include:
• Schist and Gneiss: Formed from intense heat and pressure acting on sedimentary and volcanic rocks.
• Metamorphosed Sedimentary Rocks: Such as marble, derived from limestone, found in specific formations.
• Sedimentary Rocks: Less common but present in some areas, including:
• Sandstone and Shale: Deposited in ancient basins, often deformed by tectonic activity.
• Conglomerate: Found in areas with past river or glacial activity.
• Tectonic Features: The Cascades are shaped by faulting and folding due to ongoing subduction. The range includes accreted terranes—fragments of oceanic crust and island arcs welded onto the continent over millions of years.
• Glacial and Erosional Deposits: Recent geological activity includes glacial till, alluvium, and landslide deposits, especially in valleys and lower slopes, shaped by Pleistocene glaciation and ongoing erosion.
The North Cascades are older and more structurally complex, with significant metamorphic and plutonic rocks, while the South Cascades (e.g., around Mount Rainier) are dominated by younger volcanic rocks. This diversity reflects the range’s dynamic tectonic history along the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The mountains are OLD! Here’s what GROK said when I asked:
The Cascade Mountains in Washington have a complex geological history, with their age varying depending on the specific region and rock types. Generally:
• North Cascades: The core of the North Cascades is older, with rocks dating back to the Cretaceous period and earlier (approximately 100–200 million years ago). These include metamorphic rocks (schist, gneiss) and intrusive igneous rocks (granite, granodiorite) from ancient tectonic activity and accreted terranes.
• South Cascades (Volcanic Arc): The prominent stratovolcanoes, like Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, are much younger, primarily formed during the Quaternary period (last 2.5 million years). Most of the visible volcanic features, such as lava flows and pyroclastic deposits, are less than 1 million years old, with some, like Mount St. Helens’ current cone, being only thousands of years old due to recent eruptions.
• Overall Range Formation: The modern Cascade Range began forming around 40–50 million years ago during the Eocene, driven by subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate. However, the most significant volcanic activity and uplift that shaped the current range occurred within the last 5–7 million years, with ongoing volcanism keeping parts of the range “active” and geologically young.
In summary, the Cascades’ foundation is tens to hundreds of millions of years old, but the iconic volcanic peaks are generally less than 2.5 million years old, with some features still actively forming today.
I wish I had some photos of Mt. Baker, but I haven’t been up there in some years.
Someone you might recognize……Phoenix!
There’s diverse plant life and as you know if you’ve ever read any of my posts, ton of ‘shrooms!
If you ever find yourself in Washington state on the western side, bring those hiking boots and maybe an umbrella or raincoat just in case! ☔️🌤️
I got a lot done at work today; lots of dispenses and even a nice order done for a gentleman who needed some snazzy Wiley-X safety glasses! Nice! 😎👓
Today's steps:
That’s gonna be it for today. Tomorrow will find us headed to the Northwest Washington Fair, unless we get a call to head to our son’s place. The fair will offer lots of photos opps of course, and perhaps @actifit-lamb may stowaway in my pack! We’ll see!
Take care and enjoy the rest of your day wherever you are! 🙏🌏🙏
👣🐑☕️🏔️🌋😎👍😅😁🌞🌤️☔️🌜🌙🥱😴
NKJV Psalm 131
I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Picture taken by me and altered by cliptocomic app
@elizabethbit is a member of ladiesofsgs4eva
a sweet group of lady stackers of SGH
