Malapai Hill | |
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![]() Oblique aerial view of Malapai Hill, looking east | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 4,278 feet (1,304 m) [1] NGVD 29 [2] |
Prominence | 360 ft (110 m) [2] |
Coordinates | 33°56′23″N116°05′16″W / 33.9397315°N 116.0877801°W [1] |
Geography | |
Location | Riverside County, California, United States |
Topo map | USGS Malapai Hill |
Geology | |
Mountain type | Volcanic plug |
Malapai Hill is a small mountain in the middle of Joshua Tree National Park in southeastern California, which may have been part of an ancient volcano. It formed during a period of intrusive activity and either rose above the surface or eventually was exposed by erosion. Its name is a derivative of the Spanish word malpaís .
The peak rises in Joshua Tree National Park, west of the Hexie Mountains, north of the San Bernardino Mountains and near Queen Valley. [3] Malapai Hill is the product of the intrusion of magma into White Tank monzogranite, that cooled as basalt. The exact origin of the landform is not known: it might have been part of an older volcanic complex, or it might have never penetrated the surface but cooled underground and then became exposed as the somewhat softer granite around it was eroded over time. According to Argon dating techniques, the basalt of Malapai Hill is 15.93 ± 0.08 million years old. [4] [5]
There are two summits, with the true summit rising on the north. [3] The volcanic features include piles of monzogranite and basalt talus on the mountain's steep slopes. [3]
The hill is composed of aphanitic alkaline olivine basalt, with phenocrysts of olivine. Xenoliths of lherzolite are abundant and more rarely of White Tank monzogranite. The lherzolite nodules are interpreted as representing depleted mantle from the area of partial melting that produced the magma. [6]
On February 26, 2015, a magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck underneath Malapai Hill. [7]
Malapai is an Americanization of the Spanish word malpaís , which can be translated as bad terrain. [8] The term malpaís is widely used to refer to badlands characterized by eroded rocks of volcanic origin. The cactus and xeric scrub plant community surrounding the mountain is characteristic of the stark and dry desert here. [3]
While there are not maintained trails in the area, the peak, which is in Joshua Tree Wilderness, is listed by the Angles Chapter of the Sierra Club as a recommended outing. [9] Magnetite formations near the summit are known to disrupt magnetic compasses. [3]
Mount Dana is a mountain in the U.S. state of California. Its summit marks the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park and the western boundary of the Ansel Adams Wilderness. At an elevation of 13,061 feet (3,981 m), it is the second highest mountain in Yosemite, and the northernmost summit in the Sierra Nevada which is over 13,000 feet (3,962.4 m) in elevation. Mount Dana is the highest peak in Yosemite that accessible to summit. The mountain is named in honor of James Dwight Dana, who was a professor of natural history and geology at Yale.
Lassen Volcanic National Park is a national park of the United States in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range. Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the few areas in the world where all four types of volcanoes can be found: plug dome, shield, cinder cone, and stratovolcano.
The Lassen volcanic area presents a geological record of sedimentation and volcanic activity in and around Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California, U.S. The park is located in the southernmost part of the Cascade Mountain Range in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Pacific Oceanic tectonic plates have plunged below the North American Plate in this part of North America for hundreds of millions of years. Heat and molten rock from these subducting plates has fed scores of volcanoes in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia over at least the past 30 million years, including these in the Lassen volcanic areas.
Lassen Peak, commonly referred to as Mount Lassen, is a 10,457 ft (3,187 m) lava dome volcano in Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. Located in the Shasta Cascade region above the northern Sacramento Valley, it is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range of the Western United States, and part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc stretching from southwestern British Columbia to northern California. It supports many flora and fauna among its diverse habitats, which reach high elevations and are subject to frequent snowfall.
Mount Jefferson is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, part of the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. The second highest mountain in Oregon, it is situated within Linn County, Jefferson County, and Marion County and forms part of the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. Due to the ruggedness of its surroundings, the mountain is one of the hardest volcanoes to reach in the Cascades. It is also a popular tourist destination despite its remoteness, with recreational activities including hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, and photography. Vegetation at Mount Jefferson is dominated by Douglas fir, silver fir, mountain hemlock, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and several cedar species. Carnivores, insectivores, bats, rodents, deer, birds, and various other species inhabit the area.
Mount Thielsen, is an extinct shield volcano in the Oregon High Cascades, near Mount Bailey. Because eruptive activity ceased 250,000 years ago, glaciers have heavily eroded the volcano's structure, creating precipitous slopes and a horn-like peak. The spire-like shape of Thielsen attracts lightning strikes and creates fulgurite, an unusual mineral. The prominent horn forms a centerpiece for the Mount Thielsen Wilderness, a reserve for recreational activities such as skiing and hiking. Thielsen is one of Oregon's Matterhorns.
Three Fingered Jack is a summit of a shield volcano of the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed during the Pleistocene epoch, the mountain consists mainly of basaltic andesite lava and was heavily glaciated in the past. While other Oregon volcanoes that were heavily glaciated—such as Mount Washington and Mount Thielsen—display eroded volcanic necks, Three Fingered Jack's present summit is a comparatively narrow ridge of loose tephra supported by a dike only 10 feet (3.0 m) thick on a generally north–south axis. Glaciation exposed radiating dikes and plugs that support this summit. The volcano has long been inactive and is highly eroded.
Mount Washington is a deeply eroded volcano in the Cascade Range of Oregon. It lies within Deschutes and Linn counties and is surrounded by the Mount Washington Wilderness area.
Mount McLoughlin is a dormant steep-sided stratovolcano, or composite volcano, in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon and within the United States Sky Lakes Wilderness. It is one of the volcanic peaks in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, within the High Cascades sector. A prominent landmark for the Rogue River Valley, the mountain is north of Mount Shasta, and south-southwest of Crater Lake. It was named around 1838 after John McLoughlin, a Chief Factor for the Hudson's Bay Company. Mount McLouglin's prominence has made it a landmark to Native American populations for thousands of years.
Indian Heaven is a volcanic field in Skamania County in the state of Washington, in the United States. Midway between Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams, the field dates from the Pleistocene to the early Holocene epoch. It trends north to south and is dominated by six small shield volcanoes; these shields are topped by small spatter and cinder cones, and the field includes a number of subglacial volcanoes and tuyas. The northernmost peak in the field is Sawtooth Mountain and the southernmost is Red Mountain; its highest point is Lemei Rock at an elevation of 5,925 feet (1,806 m).
Mount Tehama is an eroded andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the Cascade Range in Northern California. Part of the Lassen volcanic area, its tallest remnant, Brokeoff Mountain, is itself the second highest peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park and connects to the park's highest point, Lassen Peak. Located on the border of Tehama County and Shasta County, Brokeoff's peak is the highest point in the former. The hikers that summit this mountain each year are treated to "exceptional" views of Lassen Peak, the Central Valley of California, and many of the park's other features. On clear days, Mount Shasta can also be seen in the distance.
Goat Rocks is an extinct stratovolcano in the Cascade Range, located between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams in southern Washington, in the United States. Part of the Cascade Volcanoes, it was formed by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate under the western edge of the North American Plate. The volcano was active from 3.2 million years ago until eruptions ceased between 1 and 0.5 million years ago. Throughout its complex eruptive history, volcanism shifted from silicic explosive eruptions to voluminous, mafic activity.
Mount Taylor is a dormant stratovolcano in northwest New Mexico, northeast of the town of Grants. It is the high point of the San Mateo Mountains and the highest point in the Cibola National Forest.
The Sierra Blanca is an ultra-prominent range of volcanic mountains in Lincoln and Otero counties in the south-central part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The range is about 40 miles (64 km) from north to south and 20 miles (32 km) wide.
Diamond Peak is a volcano in Klamath and Lane counties of central Oregon in the United States. It is a shield volcano, though it might also be considered a modest stratocone. Diamond Peak forms part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a segment of the Cascade Range in western North America extending from southern British Columbia through Oregon to Northern California. Reaching an elevation of 8,748 feet (2,666 m), the mountain is located near Willamette Pass in the Diamond Peak Wilderness within the Deschutes and Willamette national forests. Surrounded by coniferous forest and visible in the skyline from foothills near Eugene, Diamond Peak offers a few climbing routes and can be scrambled. Diamond Peak is one of Oregon's Matterhorns.
West Crater is a small lava dome with associated lava flows in southern Washington, United States. Located in Skamania County, it rises to an elevation of 4,131 feet (1,259 m), and forms part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It is also part of the Marble Mountain-Trout Creek Hill volcanic field, a little-known Quaternary volcanic field in the southern Cascades of Washington state. The area can be hiked, and can be accessed by roads in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
Pelican Butte is a steep-sided shield volcano in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon. It is located 28 miles (45 km) due south of Crater Lake and 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Mount McLoughlin. Pelican Butte is the most prominent shield volcano in the southern Oregon Cascades and has a large volume at 4.8 cubic miles (20 km3), making it one of the bigger Quaternary volcanoes in the region, approaching the size of some of the range's stratovolcanoes. While still part of the Cascades, Pelican Butte is disconnected from the main axis, forming above faults along the eastern border of the range. Pelican Butte is part of the Quaternary Mount McLoughlin Reach, a volcanic vent zone that runs from the volcano to Aspen Lake, encompassing 33 vents over an area of 357 square miles (925 km2). Ice age glaciers carved a large cirque into the northeast flank of the mountain, but despite this erosion, its original shape is largely preserved. Several proposals have been made over the last few decades for the development of a ski area on this flank, but none have been implemented.
The Raton-Clayton volcanic field is a volcanic field located in the state of New Mexico, United States. Capulin Volcano National Monument is located in the volcanic field. It is the northeasternmost volcanic field of the Jemez Lineament and the easternmost Cenozoic volcanic field of North America.
Cabezon Peak is a large volcanic plug that is a prominent feature in northwestern New Mexico. It rises to 7,785 feet in elevation, and nearly 2,000 feet above the floor of the Rio Puerco Valley. Cabezon Peak is two miles south of the old ghost town of Cabezon and the Rio Puerco. This volcanic neck is formed of basalt and is part of the Mount Taylor volcanic field. A volcanic neck or plug is formed when magma from an existing volcano solidifies in the pipe or neck and the surrounding sediment is eroded away. Marine Cretaceous rocks of the Mancos Shale and Point Lookout Sandstone are exposed around the base of Cabezon Peak.
Round Top is a 10,381-foot (3,164 m) mountain located on the Sierra crest in Alpine County, California, United States. Its summit is the highest point in Eldorado National Forest and the Mokelumne Wilderness. The mountain lies just south of Carson Pass. With 2,541 feet (774 m) of prominence, Round Top is the 16th most prominent mountain in the Sierra Nevada.