Jump to content

Yamsay Mountain

Coordinates:42°55′50″N121°21′39″W/ 42.930599108°N 121.36074595°W/42.930599108; -121.36074595
This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yamsay Mountain
View from Yamsay Mountain
Highest point
Elevation8,200 ft (2,499 m)NAVD 88[1]
Prominence3,176 ft (968 m)[2]
Coordinates42°55′50″N121°21′39″W/ 42.930599108°N 121.36074595°W/42.930599108; -121.36074595[1]
Geography
LocationKlamath County,Oregon,U.S.
Parent rangeCascade Range
Topo mapUSGSYamsay Mountain
Geology
Mountain typeShield volcano
Climbing
Easiest routeTrail[3](formerly a road)

Yamsay Mountainis a largeshield volcanoin theCascade Rangeof south-centralOregon,located about 35 miles (56 km) east ofCrater Lakeon the border betweenKlamath CountyandLake County.It is part of theCascade Volcanic Arcbut is located in a mountain range 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) behind the main Cascade volcanic front. The best known members of this enigmatic arc are the massive shields ofNewberry Volcano,about 55 miles (89 km) farther north in Oregon, andMedicine Lake Volcano,about 80 miles (130 km) south inNorthern California.Yamsay is the second highest volcano in the eastern arc, almost 300 feet (90 m) higher than Newberry and Medicine Lake.

A central part ofKlamathmythology,the mountain offers activities such ashikingandhorseback riding.Historically, the area around it has been inhabited byNative Americantribes and settlers. Until the 1970s, a fire lookout tower sat on the summit of the mountain, and its foundation remains to this day.

Geography and geology

[edit]
Diagram; plate tectonics of theCascade Range

Like other volcanoes in the Cascade Range, Yamsay was produced bysubductionof the oceanicJuan de Fuca Plateunder theNorth American Plate.[4]Annual convergence between the two continues at a rate of 1.6 inches (4 cm) per year. The Cascades make up the majority of theNorth AmericanWest Coast volcanoes; they have been volcanically active for about 36 million years. The rock making up the Cascades is slightly older, dated between 55 and 42 million years old. In an attempt to organize the volcanoes by age, scientists typically divide them into two provinces: the High Cascades – the younger volcanoes – and the Western Cascades, comprising the older volcanoes.[5]

Yamsay, along with the Simcoe volcanic complex, Medicine Lake Highlands, and Newberry Volcano, make up a wayward range of shield volcanoes between 50 kilometres (31 mi) and 60 kilometres (37 mi) east of the main Cascade Range. Volcanism at these centers is unlike other eruptions in the Cascades, and it does not stem from fissures as wouldBasin and Rangevolcanism. The volcanoes appear to be isolated from the major volcanic ranges in the Northwestern United States,[6]although scientists group them as part of the Cascades.

Recent volcanism in the Cascades, lasting from 7 to 2mya,produced largelybasalticandbasaltic andesite-based material (up to 50 percent). On the eastern side of the High Cascades, however, volcanoes erupteddacite,andesite,andrhyolite.These materials made up several types of eruptions:lava flows,domes,andpyroclasticflows. In the most recent volcanic activity, andesite, basalt, and rhyolite have been erupted from High Cascades volcanoes, particularly theThree Sisters,Broken Top,Mount Hood,Mount Jefferson,and Crater Lake.[7]

History

[edit]

The name Yamsay is a corruption of theKlamath(a Native American tribe ofSouthern Oregon) nameYamsi,a form ofYamash,meaning "north wind." This mountain was supposed to be the home ofKmukamtch,the supreme being of Klamath mythology.[8] Historically, the area by the mountain was inhabited by Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin Bands, all of theSnake Paiute people.The Yahooskins lived east of Yamsay Mountain, near modern-dayLakeview.Their group inhabited 22 million acres (89,000 km2) of land in Oregon and California. Traders entered the area at some point between 1825 and 1827, where they worked as trappers for theHudson's Bay Company.After routes opened up in 1846,Fort Klamathwas built (in 1863).[9]

The city ofKlamath Falls(southwest of Yamsay) sprang up in the 1920s and featured the fastest-growing population in Oregon. Contributors to this new growth and development included the creation of theSouthern Pacific Railroad,completed in 1909. This opened the area for logging and timber business, which became the focus of the profit of the area.[10]

The mountain features aUnited States Forest Servicefire lookout towerwith an 80-foot (24 m) steel tower, built on the summit of Yamsay in 1929. It was removed after the 1970s, and only remnants of the foundation remain today. Adirt roadwas built to the summit to service the lookout, but this was abandoned after the tower was removed. The upper 3.5 miles (5.6 km) now form ahikingtrail to the summit.[11]

Climate and ecology

[edit]

The Cascade Range is dramatically different in climate from west to east. The west side is heavily forested and features trees such asDouglas firs,western hemlock,Pacific silver firs,andAlaska yellow cedars.[12]East of the Cascades, where Yamsay lies, the climate becomes much drier, evenarid.Precipitation significantly declines and vegetation becomes more sparse, withlodgepole pine,white fir,ponderosa pine,andjuniper.To the south,chaparralplants such asbeargrassandbitterbrushprevail.[13]

Diverse life exists within the range, includingendangered specieslikeLarch Mountain Salamandersandspotted owls.Amphibians like salamanders and frogs are common, as are birds. Mammals in the area consist ofelk,mountain lions,deer,andblack bears.Eastern Cascades fish includeLost River suckersandshort suckers,which are bothendemicspecies.[14]

Recreation

[edit]

The Fremont National Recreation Trail passes through the area. It offers tourists views of other Oregon Cascades landmarks, such asMount Bachelor,Mount Shasta,Three Sisters,andMount Thielson.Other activities along the trail include hiking and horseback riding up the mountain from the recreation area located at an elevation between 6,500 feet (1,981 m) and 8,196 feet (2,498 m).[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"Yamsay Mt".NGS Data Sheet.National Geodetic Survey,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,United States Department of Commerce.Retrieved2008-04-03.
  2. ^"Yamsay Mountain, Oregon".Peakbagger.com.Retrieved2008-04-03.
  3. ^ab "Yamsay Mountain".Fremont–Winema National Forest.United States Forest Service. 2005-05-02. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-02-09.
  4. ^Brantley (1994).Volcanoes of the United States: USGS General Interest Publication.United States Geological Survey.
  5. ^Swanson; et al. (1989).Cenozoic Volcanism in the Cascade Range and Columbia Plateau, Southern Washington and Northernmost Oregon: AGU Field Trip Guidebook T106.United States Geological Survey.
  6. ^Draper, David S. (November 1992). "Spinel Lherzolite Xenoliths from Lorena Butte, Simcoe Mountains, Southern Washington (USA)".The Journal of Geology.100(6).University of Chicago Press:766–775.Bibcode:1992JG....100..766D.doi:10.1086/629627.S2CID128694354.
  7. ^Sherrod, David R.; Smith, James G. (2000)."Geologic Map Of Upper Eocene To Holocene Volcanic And Related Rocks Of The Cascade Range, Oregon"(PDF).United States Geological Survey.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2010-08-05.Retrieved2010-04-24.
  8. ^ McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928].Oregon Geographic Names(Seventh ed.).Portland,Oregon:Oregon Historical SocietyPress.ISBN0-87595-277-1.
  9. ^Zilverberg, p. 3.
  10. ^Zilverberg, p. 4.
  11. ^"Yamsay Mountain (OR)".SummitPost.org.Retrieved2011-05-07.
  12. ^Wuerthner, p. 74.
  13. ^Wuerthner, p. 76.
  14. ^Wuerthner, p. 77.

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yamsay_Mountain&oldid=1242136917"