Garfield Peak is a mountain peak on the south end of

Crater Lake Crater Lake ( Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fill ...

Crater Lake National Park Crater Lake National Park is an American national park located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake is the fifth-oldest national park in the United States and the only national park in Oregon. The park encompasses the caldera of ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. The top of the peak reaches above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. The peak has a elevation trail to the summit from the Crater Lake lodge, one of the most popular hiking sites surrounding the lake. The trail continues east toward Applegate peak ( high). The peak is one of seven peaks on Crater Lake's rim to rise above .

History

The Garfield Peak was named in honor of James Rudolph Garfield, the Secretary of Interior for President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, who created the national park in 1902. Garfield visited the park in 1907, the first cabinet member to visit Crater Lake.

Geology

Garfield Peak was created after

Mount Mazama Mount Mazama (''Giiwas'' in the Native American language Klamath) is a complex volcano in the state of Oregon, United States, in a segment of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and Cascade Range. Most of the mountain collapsed following a major erupt ...

, a large stratovolcano, erupted violently approximately 7,700 years ago, formed on the rim of its

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

which now contains Crater Lake. The walls along the southern rim of Crater Lake have had a peculiar influence from sulfur steams coming off

fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

s, which color the rock especially on Garfield Peak, the Eagle Crags and Applegate trail. The rock color frequently changes from shades of red, brown, to yellow. The reds and browns of the igneous rocks tend to be a result of the initial stages of rock decay and the inevitable pigments made by a long-standing combination of oxygen, iron, and water. This combination of iron oxide with water forms a resulting chemical compound called mineral limonite, which has a brown color. When the iron oxide combines with more diluted amounts of water, the resulting color is yellow. In the cases where no water has entered into the reaction, the color of the resulting rock is red, forming the mineral hematite. In some areas, soluble and insoluble iron compounds mix with each other producing a greenish color rock. All these colors of rock with varying shades based on various stages of dilution can be seen on Garfield Peak, including its trailside.

Flora and fauna

Garfield Peak is covered by

mountain hemlock ''Tsuga mertensiana'', known as mountain hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, found between Southcentral Alaska and south-central California. Description ''Tsuga mertensiana'' is a large evergreen conifer ...

and

Shasta red fir ''Abies magnifica'', the red fir or silvertip fir, is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a high-elevation tree, typically occurring at elevation, though only rare ...

, while

whitebark pine ''Pinus albicaulis'', known by the common names whitebark pine, white bark pine, white pine, pitch pine, scrub pine, and creeping pine, is a conifer tree native to the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically subalpine ...

and

subalpine fir ''Abies lasiocarpa'', the subalpine fir or Rocky Mountain fir, is a western North American fir tree. Description ''Abies lasiocarpa'' is a medium-sized evergreen conifer with a very narrow conic crown, growing to tall, exceptionally , with a t ...

can be found at higher altitudes towards the summit.Crater Lake National Park
Park Vision.

American pika The American pika (''Ochotona princeps''), a diurnal species of pika, is found in the mountains of western North America, usually in boulder fields at or above the tree line. They are herbivorous, smaller relatives of rabbits and hares. Pikas ...

s and

yellow-bellied marmot The yellow-bellied marmot (''Marmota flaviventris''), also known as the rock chuck, is a large, stout-bodied ground squirrel in the marmot genus. It is one of fourteen species of marmots, and is native to mountainous regions of southwestern Cana ...

s can be found upon the rocky slopes along the trail.

Birds

Birds and bird songs are prominent on Garfield Peak. The song of Thurber's Junco is of interest, which tends to breed on the mountains of southern Oregon. The bird resembles the Oregon Junco with head, throat and breast of deep black but with longer wings and tail and the sides of the bird are more buff than pink. They can be seen perched and singing or females can be seen hopping through the rocks and grassy meadows in search of insects and seeds. Their nest can be seen hidden under the leaves of the trailing black currant.

Garfield Peak trail

The Garfield Peak trail is a

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

route that travels over or parallels the westernmost stretch of the southern rim of Crater Lake. Most of the northern ridges of the trail has views of the lake and its two islands. The trail is non-paved and runs from the Crater Lake Lodge up a moderate rated ascension gain of of elevation up to Garfield Peak. From Garfield Peak the trail has access to continue to a relative plain section of Crater Lake southernmost ridge past Eagle Crags towards Applegate Peak. The trailhead is well marked on the eastern side of Crater Lake Lodge and begins with a section of paved corridors that have viewing access to the lake. The pavement transitions to an exposed but well maintained dirt trail leading northeastward. Approximately half a mile from the trailhead the track turns northward ascending the northwestern ridge of Garfield Peak. The trail slowly turns fully eastward over the northernmost ridge of Garfield Peak up to the summit.

References

External links

*
USGS Crater Lake Data Clearinghouse

Crater Lake National Park
(National Park Service) {{Use dmy dates, date=October 2017 Cascade Range Cascade Volcanoes Volcanoes of Oregon Volcanoes of Klamath County, Oregon Crater Lake National Park Mountains of Klamath County, Oregon Mountains of Oregon