Mount Multnomah
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| Mount Multnomah | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 16,000 ft estimated |
| Location | Oregon, USA |
| Range | Cascade Range |
Mount Multnomah is a theoretical ancient volcano that was said to exist in central Oregon at the present day location of the Three Sisters region. It was estimated to have been around 16,000 feet tall, and was believed destroyed in a fashion similar to Mount Mazama's collapse into what is now Crater Lake in southern Oregon.
In 1924, a geologist named Edwin T. Hodge performed fieldwork around the area and concluded that the three adjacent volcanoes and their foothills were once part of a single giant volcano. His conclusion was bolstered by oral history from the local Warm Springs tribe, which recounted the massive eruption and collapse of the ancient peak.
- Klah Klahnee, the Three Sisters, was once the biggest and highest mountain of all; it could be seen for many miles. One time the earth shook for days, and the mountain boiled inside. It boiled over, and hot rocks came out of the top of it. Flames and smoke rose high in the air. Red hot stones were thrown out in every direction. Many villages and many Indians were buried by the rocks. When the mountain became quiet again, most of it was gone. Only three points were left.
Unfortunately, the date of eruption that Hodge calculated using the potassium-argon method was 25 million to 27 million years ago. It is highly unlikely that the native story of the eruption could have been passed into the present day from so long ago.
Years later, Howel Williams, then dean of Cascade volcanologists, concluded that each of the Three Sisters and their surrounding mountains were unique and did not represent remains of a single collapsed structure.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Clark, Ella E. (1952). Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23926-1.
- Harris, Stephen L. (1988). Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes. Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula. ISBN 0-87842-220-X.
- Cascade Peaks: Mount Multnomah. Retrieved on July 31, 2005.
- Ehecatl, Itztli. (2002). "Native American Oral Traditions & Archaelogical Myths." Accessed on 2005-07-31.
