Colliemom wrote:Anne, €I know you Iike anything volcano and thought I would send this your way. You may already know of it. I have been there many times and it is beautiful area, some of the most remote area in the UP. Called God’s country for good reason.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... 4424394542
Thanks for the link, Sue! Very interesting, and much appreciated. And, no, I had never heard of the area - and I am always glad to learn something new!
Out here in California (Oregon and Washington, too) the landscape is a lot more geologically active than it is there for you in Michigan.
Right here, locally, in my very own part of Northern California, there are several active volcanoes. The three active volcanoes mentioned below (there are others!) are all an hour or two drive (or three) from my own front door.
"Active and potentially active volcanoes in California":
https://ssc.ca.gov/disasters/volcano/
The "top three" volcanoes under the above link are these pictured below (with more to read about each under the above link):
Medicine Lake volcano - don't be fooled by what looks like low, gentle hills in the photo. Medicine Lake volcano is a "shield" volcano, it is 50 miles north-south and 30 miles east-west. The "footprint" of the volcano is about eight-hundred-fifty square miles. As such, it is considered to be the largest volcano in the Cascade range (larger even than Mt. Shasta, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, etc.). And - it is still considered to be an "active" volcano, with at least one still-active fumerole.
Mt. Shasta volcano - Shasta is your basic stratovolcano, and has the pyramid shape that is more familiar. And, yes, it has a "double cone", as seen in the photo.
Lassen Peak volcano (Lassen Volcanic National Park - read more about Lassen Peak below the photo)
The county where I live, as part of their "Disaster Preparedness Plan" addresses Lassen Peak (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Mt. Lassen) in some detail as part of the plan. Why? Because Lassen Peak erupted not-so-long-ago in geologic time (about a hundred years ago or so), and is close enough to my area for my county to be affected by volcanic ashfall.
Lassen is quite active today, with steam vents, boiling lakes, fumeroles and hot springs. In the United States, Lassen has the most volcanic features, second only to Yellowstone.
When Lassen next erupts (notice that I don't say "if", I say "when", because it is a certainty that it will erupt again) my area is likely to receive ashfall. My home is about 65 miles from Lassen (as the crow flies), and would very likely be affected by volcanic ash when an eruption occurs, and if the wind currents were just right. Volcanic ash can do terrific damage to infrastructure, because: "Volcanic Ash" is definitely mis-named.
Volcanic ash is not the soft, fluffy stuff you might clean out of your fireplace or bar-b-cue pit, but is actually composed of pulverized rock and pulverized volcanic glass. Thus it is extremely heavy, it is composed of sharp and jagged particles, from microscopic to large (pulverized rock, again) and can cause roof collapse, serious damage to electrical lines, automobile engines, and all kinds of infastructure. Volcanic ash can - and has - brought down airliners in flight.
NOTE: The "Stairway of Power" mentioned in my previous post regarding Oroville Dam is a LOT closer to Lassen than I am. . .
https://www.wplives.com/frc/stairway_of_power.php
When Lassen next erupts, if the winds are right, it is possible, (if not likely) that the multiple power plants in this stairway of power, all of them along the upper branches of the Feather River (these in combination generate electricity for much of Northern California) could be severely damaged, if not outright destroyed (by earthquake and volcanic ash).
This has the very real potential to put northern California in the dark for an extended period of time. . .
I have visited Medicine Lake volcano, Mt. Shasta and Lassen Peak many times. The Medicine Lake volcano is in a remote part of the state (about a five hour drive from me) and it, too (like your volcano) is definitely "God's Country".
Medicine Lake volcano is where my heart lives. . .
Thanks again, Sue!
Anne
