Sawtooth Mountain is a

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more v ...

, and part of the polygenetic Indian Heaven Volcanic Field in Washington, United States. It is located midway between Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams, and dates from the Pleistocene and Holocene. Sawtooth Mountain is the third highest point at in this region. The mountain forms a series of welded volcanic

rock spire A pinnacle, tower, spire, needle or natural tower (german: Felsnadel, ''Felsturm'' or ''Felszinne'') in geology is an individual column of rock, isolated from other rocks or groups of rocks, in the shape of a vertical shaft or spire. Examples are ...

s, an eroded remnant of an ancient shield volcano. Sawtooth Mountain is the third highest point in the

Indian Heaven Wilderness Indian Heaven Wilderness is a protected area located inside the Gifford Pinchot National Forest of southwestern Washington state. The wilderness consists of of broad, forested plateau, with meadows straddling numerous volcanic peaks and at lea ...

Area. While Sawtooth Mountain is not the highest, its

craggy Crag may refer to: * Crag (climbing), a cliff or group of cliffs, in any location, which is or may be suitable for climbing * Crag (dice game), a dice game played with three dice * Crag, Arizona, US * Crag, West Virginia, US * Crag and tail, a geo ...

appearance makes it one of the most namesake peaks in the Indian Heaven Volcanic Field.

Geographical setting

Sawtooth Mountain is the third highest peak the

in Washington. On clear days hikers can see views of four nearby volcanoes: Mount Adams,

Mount Hood Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...

, Mount St. Helens, and

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...

from the Sawtooth Mountain Trail, which skirts the subalpine upper west side of Sawtooth Mountain. The

is noted as a series of eroded, volcanic spires. While the mountain is free of snow and ice, snow tends to linger on the summit well into July.

Geology

Sawtooth Mountain is one of the many shield volcanoes topped by cinder cones and

spatter cones Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...

that make up the Indian Heaven Volcanic Field. About 60 eruptive centers lie on the long, N10°E-trending, Indian Heaven fissure zone. The field has a volume of about and forms the western part of a

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

basalt field in the southern Washington Cascades, including the King Mountain fissure zone along which Mount Adams was built. Indian Heaven Volcanic Field and Mount Adams Volcanic Vicinity Digital Relief Map

Indian Heaven Volcanic Field and Mount Adams Volcanic Vicinity Digital Relief Map

Climbing and recreation

Fishing and hiking destinations in the volcanic field around Sawtooth Mountain include the

, which is popular for the high mountain meadows among its volcanic peaks. The

Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

passes north/south through the volcanic field and the

, which is known for its many lakes and views of four nearby volcanoes: Mount Adams,

, Mount St. Helens, and

. It also hugs the densely forested east side of Sawtooth Mountain, and in conjunction with the Sawtooth Mountain Trail, can be hiked in a loop beginning at the Sawtooth Trailhead. Wood Lake is to the west of the peak, and a spur trail (Wood Lake Trail) leaves the Pacific Crest Trail for the lake. Major trails at Sawtooth Mountain are the Sawtooth Trail, which climbs up and skirts the upper west side of Sawtooth Mountain; and Wood Lake Trail, which descends west from the Pacific Crest Trail to the deep blue Wood Lake. The Pacific Crest Trail skirts the densely forested lower west side of the peak. The Sawtooth Berry Fields is located north of Sawtooth Mountain, around Surprise Lakes and the Sawtooth Trailhead for the Pacific Crest Trail.

References

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External links

Gifford Pinchot National Forest - Indian Heaven Wilderness

SummitPost: Sawtooth MountainIndian Heaven Wilderness Overview/Background

Printable Indian Heaven Wilderness Trail Vicinity Map (PDF 85 K, Adobe Acrobat)
Cascade Range Shield volcanoes of the United States Subduction volcanoes Cascade Volcanoes Volcanoes of Skamania County, Washington Volcanoes of Washington (state) Polygenetic volcanoes Pleistocene shield volcanoes Gifford Pinchot National Forest Cinder cones of the United States

Geographical setting

Geology

Climbing and recreation

See also

References

External links