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Broken Top
Broken Top is a glacially eroded complex stratovolcano. It lies in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, part of the extensive Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located southeast of the Three Sisters peaks, the volcano, residing within the Three Sisters Wilderness, is 20 miles (32 km) west of Bend, Oregon, in Deschutes County. Eruptive activity stopped roughly 100,000 years ago, and erosion by glaciers has since reduced the volcano's cone to where its contents are exposed. There are two named glaciers on the peak, Bend and Crook Glacier.
Diverse species of flora and fauna inhabit the area, which is subject to frequent snowfall, occasional rain, and extreme temperature variation between seasons. Broken Top and its surrounding area constitute popular destinations for hiking, climbing, and scrambling.
Broken Top lies in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, roughly located at 44°05′N 121°42′W / 44.08°N 121.70°W. It is part of the Cascade Range in Oregon, in the Three Sisters Wilderness, which lies in Deschutes County. The mountain has an elevation of 2,797 metres (9,177 ft) according to Hildreth (2007).
The Three Sisters Wilderness covers an area of 281,190 acres (1,137.9 km2), making it the second-largest wilderness area in Oregon, after the Eagle Cap Wilderness area. Designated by the United States Congress in 1964, it borders the Mount Washington Wilderness to the north and shares its southern edge with the Waldo Lake Wilderness. The area includes 260 miles (420 km) of trails and many forests, lakes, waterfalls, and streams, including the source of Whychus Creek. The Three Sisters and Broken Top account for about a third of the Three Sisters Wilderness, and this area is known as the Alpine Crest Region. Rising from about 5,200 feet (1,600 m) to 10,358 feet (3,157 m) in elevation, the Alpine Crest Region features the wilderness area's most-frequented glaciers, lakes, and meadows.
Weather varies greatly in the area due to the rain shadow caused by the Cascade Range. Air from the Pacific Ocean rises over the western slopes, which causes it to cool and dump its moisture as rain (or snow in the winter). Precipitation increases with elevation. Once the moisture is wrung from the air, it descends on the eastern side of the crest, which causes the air to be warmer and drier. On the western slopes, precipitation ranges from 80 to 125 inches (200 to 320 cm) annually, while precipitation over the eastern slopes varies from 40 to 80 inches (100 to 200 cm) in the east. Temperature extremes reach 80 to 90 °F (27 to 32 °C) in summers and −20 to −30 °F (−29 to −34 °C) during the winters.
Before settlement of the area at the end of the 19th century, wildfires frequently burned through the local forests, especially the ponderosa pine forests on the eastern slopes. Due to fire suppression over the past century the forests have become overgrown, and at higher elevations they are further susceptible to summertime fires, which threaten surrounding life and property. In the 21st century, wildfires have been larger and more common in the Deschutes National Forest. In September 2012, a lightning strike caused a fire that burned 41 square miles (110 km2) in the Pole Creek area within the Three Sisters Wilderness, leaving the area closed until May 2013. In August 2017, officials closed 417 square miles (1,080 km2) in the western half of the Three Sisters Wilderness, including 24 miles (39 km) of the Pacific Crest Trail, to the public because of 11 lightning-caused fires, including the Milli Fire. As a result of the increasing incidence of fires, public officials have factored the role of wildfire into planning, including organizing prescribed fires with scientists to protect habitats at risk while minimizing adverse effects on air quality and environmental health.
Broken Top is a complex stratovolcano. It lies northwest of Ball Butte and southeast of South Sister (part of the Three Sisters complex volcano), which is located at longitude 121.7° W and latitude 44.08° N. It has an elevation of 9,186 feet (2,800 m), with a volume of 2.4 cubic miles (10 km3). Like other Cascade volcanoes, Broken Top was fed by magma chambers produced by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate under the western edge of the North American tectonic plate. The mountain was also shaped by the changing climate of the Pleistocene Epoch, during which multiple glacial periods occurred and glacial advance eroded local mountains.
Broken Top joins several other volcanoes in the eastern segment of the Cascade Range known as the High Cascades, which trends from north–south. This includes the Three Sisters complex, Belknap Crater, Mount Washington, Black Butte, and Three Fingered Jack, and Mount Bachelor. Constructed towards the end of the Pleistocene epoch, these mountains are underlain by more ancient volcanoes that sank within parallel north–south trending faults in the surrounding region. The Three Sisters form the centerpiece of a region of closely grouped volcanic peaks, an exception to the typical 40-to-60-mile (64 to 97 km) spacing between volcanoes elsewhere in the Cascades. This vicinity is among the most active volcanic areas in the Cascades and one of the most densely populated volcanic centers in the world, as well as the second largest volcanic field of silicic rock within the Quaternary Cascades. The 193 square miles (500 km2) area from the Three Sisters to Broken Top and Mount Bachelor features at least 50 eruptive vents for rhyolitic and rhyodacitic lava.
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Broken Top
Broken Top is a glacially eroded complex stratovolcano. It lies in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, part of the extensive Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located southeast of the Three Sisters peaks, the volcano, residing within the Three Sisters Wilderness, is 20 miles (32 km) west of Bend, Oregon, in Deschutes County. Eruptive activity stopped roughly 100,000 years ago, and erosion by glaciers has since reduced the volcano's cone to where its contents are exposed. There are two named glaciers on the peak, Bend and Crook Glacier.
Diverse species of flora and fauna inhabit the area, which is subject to frequent snowfall, occasional rain, and extreme temperature variation between seasons. Broken Top and its surrounding area constitute popular destinations for hiking, climbing, and scrambling.
Broken Top lies in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, roughly located at 44°05′N 121°42′W / 44.08°N 121.70°W. It is part of the Cascade Range in Oregon, in the Three Sisters Wilderness, which lies in Deschutes County. The mountain has an elevation of 2,797 metres (9,177 ft) according to Hildreth (2007).
The Three Sisters Wilderness covers an area of 281,190 acres (1,137.9 km2), making it the second-largest wilderness area in Oregon, after the Eagle Cap Wilderness area. Designated by the United States Congress in 1964, it borders the Mount Washington Wilderness to the north and shares its southern edge with the Waldo Lake Wilderness. The area includes 260 miles (420 km) of trails and many forests, lakes, waterfalls, and streams, including the source of Whychus Creek. The Three Sisters and Broken Top account for about a third of the Three Sisters Wilderness, and this area is known as the Alpine Crest Region. Rising from about 5,200 feet (1,600 m) to 10,358 feet (3,157 m) in elevation, the Alpine Crest Region features the wilderness area's most-frequented glaciers, lakes, and meadows.
Weather varies greatly in the area due to the rain shadow caused by the Cascade Range. Air from the Pacific Ocean rises over the western slopes, which causes it to cool and dump its moisture as rain (or snow in the winter). Precipitation increases with elevation. Once the moisture is wrung from the air, it descends on the eastern side of the crest, which causes the air to be warmer and drier. On the western slopes, precipitation ranges from 80 to 125 inches (200 to 320 cm) annually, while precipitation over the eastern slopes varies from 40 to 80 inches (100 to 200 cm) in the east. Temperature extremes reach 80 to 90 °F (27 to 32 °C) in summers and −20 to −30 °F (−29 to −34 °C) during the winters.
Before settlement of the area at the end of the 19th century, wildfires frequently burned through the local forests, especially the ponderosa pine forests on the eastern slopes. Due to fire suppression over the past century the forests have become overgrown, and at higher elevations they are further susceptible to summertime fires, which threaten surrounding life and property. In the 21st century, wildfires have been larger and more common in the Deschutes National Forest. In September 2012, a lightning strike caused a fire that burned 41 square miles (110 km2) in the Pole Creek area within the Three Sisters Wilderness, leaving the area closed until May 2013. In August 2017, officials closed 417 square miles (1,080 km2) in the western half of the Three Sisters Wilderness, including 24 miles (39 km) of the Pacific Crest Trail, to the public because of 11 lightning-caused fires, including the Milli Fire. As a result of the increasing incidence of fires, public officials have factored the role of wildfire into planning, including organizing prescribed fires with scientists to protect habitats at risk while minimizing adverse effects on air quality and environmental health.
Broken Top is a complex stratovolcano. It lies northwest of Ball Butte and southeast of South Sister (part of the Three Sisters complex volcano), which is located at longitude 121.7° W and latitude 44.08° N. It has an elevation of 9,186 feet (2,800 m), with a volume of 2.4 cubic miles (10 km3). Like other Cascade volcanoes, Broken Top was fed by magma chambers produced by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate under the western edge of the North American tectonic plate. The mountain was also shaped by the changing climate of the Pleistocene Epoch, during which multiple glacial periods occurred and glacial advance eroded local mountains.
Broken Top joins several other volcanoes in the eastern segment of the Cascade Range known as the High Cascades, which trends from north–south. This includes the Three Sisters complex, Belknap Crater, Mount Washington, Black Butte, and Three Fingered Jack, and Mount Bachelor. Constructed towards the end of the Pleistocene epoch, these mountains are underlain by more ancient volcanoes that sank within parallel north–south trending faults in the surrounding region. The Three Sisters form the centerpiece of a region of closely grouped volcanic peaks, an exception to the typical 40-to-60-mile (64 to 97 km) spacing between volcanoes elsewhere in the Cascades. This vicinity is among the most active volcanic areas in the Cascades and one of the most densely populated volcanic centers in the world, as well as the second largest volcanic field of silicic rock within the Quaternary Cascades. The 193 square miles (500 km2) area from the Three Sisters to Broken Top and Mount Bachelor features at least 50 eruptive vents for rhyolitic and rhyodacitic lava.