Mount Jefferson, looking east across dry Detroit Lake, early summer 2001
Mount Jefferson is a 10,495 feet (3,199 meters) high stratovolcano. It is the second highest in the Oregon Cascade Range, falling second only to Mount Hood by a mere 800 feet. Mount Jefferson last erupted about 15,000 years ago and has shown it has the potential for “large explosive eruptions.” It is home to the Russel, Jefferson Park, Whitewater and Waldo Glaciers.
Good viewpoints can be found along Highway 20 as you travel east around Detrot Lake and from Bend to Sisters, OR looking west from the east side of the Cascade Range. If you want to take a hike, try Pamelia Lake and then on up to the top of Grizzly Peak for spectacular views.
Further south of Mount Jefferson you will find Mt. Washington.
You must obtain a wilderness permit to enter the protected Mount Jefferson Wilderness. You can obtain these permits at the Detroit Lake Ranger Station on Highway 20.
Detroit Ranger Station
US Forest Service
44125 North Santiam Highway SE
Detroit, OR 97342
E-mail: Detroit Ranger District
(503) 854-3366 (voice) (503) 854-3369 (TTY)
Three Sisters, looking west between Sisters and Bend, OR. (From Left to Right: South Sister, Middle Sister, North Sister)
The Three Sisters are majestic rising from the high desert plain east of the Central Cascade Range. Their height is only 6,700 feet above the desert floor, compare this with the 10,200 feet above Oregon’s Willamette Valley and you can see a considerable rise is relative height.
The North Sister is a shield volcano and is 10,085 feet (3,074 meters) high. North Sister is the oldest of the Three Sisters and last erupted about 100,000 years ago. It is home to the Linn, Villard, Thayer and part of the Collier Glaciers.
Middle Sister is a composite volcano and is 10,047 feet (3,062 meters) high. It is home to the Collier, Renfrew, Hayden and Diller Glaciers.
In the saddle between Middle and South Sister you will find the Chambers Lakes.
South Sister is a composite volcano and is 10,358 feet (3,157 meters) high. South Sister is the youngest of the Three Sisters, erupted as recently as 2000 years ago. It is home to the Skinner, Eugene, Lost Creek, Prouty, Lewis and Clark Glaciers. The top of South Sister is relatively flat and is home to Teardrop Pool.
You must obtain a wilderness permit to enter the protected Three Sisters Wilderness. These are usually found at the trailheads. You can also stop by a US Forest Ranger Station on your way.
Here it is!! 14,411 feet and you didn’t even sweat one drop to get the view. Notice the jagged shadow within the crater bowl. The rising sun on the left amplifies the rugged crater rim creating the jagged shape. Carvases are just under the jagged surface of the glacier in the upper right
Mount Saint Helens, Washington pictured in late July
Mount Saint Helens is famous for it’s May 18, 1980 eruption, spewing smoke and ash as far east as Montana. It is now 8,364 feet (2,549 M), before the eruption it was 9,667 feet high. Both the North and South forks of the Toutle River were flooded with mud flow and debris. Spirit Lake, north of Mount Saint Helens, has a large portion of it’s surface area covered with floating logs. Twenty years later these logs are still floating and can be seen easily from the air.
Mount Saint Helens covered in winter snow.
In 1987 the southern slope of the mountain was reopened to hikers. For more information please call the Climbing Information Line at (360) 247-3961.
Mount Adams is located in the southern portion of Washington, east of Mount Saint Helens. Mount Adams is 12,276 feet (3,742 M) high. Pictured here looking east in late September, the morning sun is beginning to peek over the south face of Mount Adams.
Pictured here in mid-march, just after sunrise, is mighty Mount Hood. A few islands of land poke through the clouds in the foreground. On a clear day Mount Hood can be seen from Portland, OR. At 11,245 feet(3,426 M) it is the highest in the Oregon Cascade Range, rivaled only by Mount Rainier.
