Goat Rocks is an extinct stratovolcano in the Cascade Range, located between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams in southern

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, in the United States. Part of the

Cascade Volcanoes The Cascade Volcanoes (also known as the Cascade Volcanic Arc or the Cascade Arc) are a number of volcanoes in a volcanic arc in western North America, extending from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern Cali ...

, it was formed by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate under the western edge of the

North American Plate The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacif ...

. The volcano was

active Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name * HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...

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 Silicic is an adjective to describe magma or igneous rock rich in silica. The amount of silica that constitutes a silicic rock is usually defined as at least 63 percent. Granite and rhyolite are the most common silicic rocks. Silicic is the grou ...

explosive eruptions to voluminous,

mafic A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks incl ...

activity. The volcano and the surrounding Goat Rocks Wilderness, established in 1964, are named after the numerous

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs an ...

s which live in the area. The variable climate of the wilderness area supports a host of wildlife, including marmots, pikas, deer, and elk. Various peaks within the wilderness can be climbed or

scrambled Scrambled eggs is a dish made from eggs (usually chicken eggs) stirred, whipped or beaten together while being gently heated, typically with salt, butter, oil and sometimes other ingredients. Preparation Only eggs are necessary to make scrambled ...

, and other activities such as hiking are permitted. The area is rife with minerals and resources, including coal,

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, p ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

, and

base metal A base metal is a common and inexpensive metal, as opposed to a precious metal such as gold or silver. In numismatics, coins often derived their value from the precious metal content; however, base metals have also been used in coins in the past ...

Geography and geology

Goats Rocks volcano is located in southern

, west of

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uni ...

,Wood (1992), p. 161. at latitude 46.50° N and longitude 121.45° W.Wood (1992), p. 160. This region of the Cascades was originally occupied by Native Americans, who hunted and fished in its vicinity and used its trails as trade routes.Barstad, p. 2. Goat Rocks lies in a zone of intermittent volcanism which has produced many small volcanic vents, also including the Mount Adams volcanic field and

Indian Heaven 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 sout ...

. Situated in the eastern portion of the Cascade Range, Goat Rocks lies at the northwest corner of the

Klickitat River The Klickitat River is a tributary of the Columbia River, nearly long, in south-central Washington in the United States. It drains a rugged plateau area on the eastern side of the Cascade Range northeast of Portland, Oregon. In 1986, of the ri ...

basin. As a member of the

, Goat Rocks was produced by the subduction of the oceanic

Juan de Fuca Juan de Fuca (10 June 1536, Cefalonia 23 July 1602, Cefalonia)Greek Consulate of Vancouver,Greek Pioneers: Juan de Fuca. was a Greek pilot who served PhilipII of Spain. He is best known for his claim to have explored the Strait of Aniánnow k ...

plate under the western edge of the continental

. This fault, known as the

Cascadia subduction zone The Cascadia subduction zone is a convergent plate boundary that stretches from northern Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California in the United States. It is a very long, sloping subduction zone where the Explorer, Juan de Fuca, a ...

, lacks the deep

oceanic trench Oceanic trenches are prominent long, narrow topographic depressions of the ocean floor. They are typically wide and below the level of the surrounding oceanic floor, but can be thousands of kilometers in length. There are about of oceanic tren ...

usually found at convergent plate boundaries, which can probably be explained by its slow rate of subduction. According to the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

, the Nazca and North American plates converge at a rate of to each year, just half of their convergence rate as recently as 7 million years ago. Goat Rocks Wilderness - Flickr - Joe Parks (2)

Goat Rocks Wilderness - Flickr - Joe Parks (2)

The Cascade Volcanoes in Washington are restricted to four belts; Goat Rocks forms one segment of the north–south trending Mount Adams belt that also incorporates Tumac Mountain, Adams, and the King Mountain Fissure Zone. Of the four Cascade arcs, this belt contains the second most volcanoes, and its volcanoes are predominantly made of

calc-alkalic The calc-alkaline magma series is one of two main subdivisions of the subalkaline magma series, the other subalkaline magma series being the tholeiitic series. A magma series is a series of compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic mag ...

tholeiitic The tholeiitic magma series is one of two main magma series in subalkaline igneous rocks, the other being the calc-alkaline series. A magma series is a chemically distinct range of magma compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic magma ...

to basaltic andesite lava. Goats Rocks and its immediate vicinity are underlain by pre-

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

greywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

and

argillite :''"Argillite" may also refer to Argillite, Kentucky.'' Argillite () is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and oozes. They contain variable amounts ...

, and these deposits are cut by several prominent northward-trending faults.Church and Close (1984), p. 1063. Overlaying these deposits are Cenozoic volcanic rocks, including the thick,

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

-aged Ohanapecosh Formation, comprised by chemically altered

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

and

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...

lava flows and bedded andesite and

dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite ...

volcaniclastic Volcaniclastics are geologic materials composed of broken fragments ( clasts) of volcanic rock. These encompass all clastic volcanic materials, regardless of what process fragmented the rock, how it was subsequently transported, what environment it ...

rock. In turn, the Stevens Ridge Formation overlies the Ohanapecosh layer, featuring

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...

-bearing

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

, rhyolite, and other volcaniclastic rocks. Under both layers is the Russell Ranch Formation, to in thickness, which contains deposits of lapilli and tuff hinting at a

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 ...

, although geologists have failed to identify clear evidence for the formation of a caldera in this zone.Church et al., p. 4. Together with Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, and

Mount St. Helens Mount St. Helens (known as Lawetlat'la to the indigenous Cowlitz people, and Loowit or Louwala-Clough to the Klickitat) is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United St ...

, the Goat Rocks volcano is part of a triangle of volcanoes, an arrangement not found elsewhere in the Cascades. This may be related to a mid- crust zone with abnormally high electrical conductivity, the Southern Washington Cascades Conductor (SWCC), which is not well understood by geologists. Scientists from the United States Geodynamics Committee hypothesized in 1994 that this anomaly is associated with the thrust of a large deposit of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

against a

continental margin A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margi ...

. However, Hill et al. (2009) dismiss this view as it proves inconsistent with maps made from

magnetotelluric Magnetotellurics (MT) is an electromagnetic geophysical method for inferring the earth's subsurface electrical conductivity from measurements of natural geomagnetic and geoelectric field variation at the Earth's surface. Investigation depth ra ...

readings of the area. Instead, they propose that the anomaly is linked to the region's volcanism, which has caused

partial melting Partial melting occurs when only a portion of a solid is melted. For mixed substances, such as a rock containing several different minerals or a mineral that displays solid solution, this melt can be different from the bulk composition of the soli ...

of the crust.Hill et al. (2009), pp. 785–788. The oldest Cascade stratovolcano formed after the

Columbia River Basalt Group The Columbia River Basalt Group is the youngest, smallest and one of the best-preserved continental flood basalt province on Earth, covering over mainly eastern Oregon and Washington, western Idaho, and part of northern Nevada. The basalt grou ...

, Goat Rocks is roughly equal in volume to Mount St. Helens and smaller in volume than Mount Baker, at approximately . Rough estimates place the composition of the volcano as 40%

and

breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of ...

.Smith, p. 10. The remains of its lava flows can be found in the Tieton, Klickitat, and Cispus river valleys, their elevation reversed by erosion to make them resemble ridges. These flows have been thoroughly eroded, but testify to the volcano's previous size.Smith, p. 9.

Glaciation

Although it may have once been a towering stratovolcano, Goat Rocks has undergone extensive

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

since its extinction. Once eruptions ceased, the ongoing forces of

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

, as well as

hydrothermal alteration Metasomatism (from the Greek μετά ''metá'' "change" and σῶμα ''sôma'' "body") is the chemical alteration of a rock by hydrothermal and other fluids. It is the replacement of one rock by another of different mineralogical and chemical co ...

of the volcano's interior, stripped away layers of

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...

deposits and lava flows, uncovering the rocky lava spines where

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

had cooled and hardened within the conduits of the volcano.Harris, p. 254. Nearly all the remaining volcanic debris has been partially covered by a younger layer of rock. The Goat Rocks area is notable for its extensive glaciers, despite its modest elevation and southerly location relative to the rest of the Washington Cascades. Four major glaciers mantle the north and northeast slopes of the peaks: Conrad Glacier,Beckey, p. 72. McCall Glacier,

Meade Glacier Meade Glacier is located in the Goat Rocks region in the U.S. state of Washington. The glacier is within the Goat Rocks Wilderness of Snoqualmie National Forest, south of Conrad Glacier and immediately east of Gilbert Peak. Meade Glacier is sp ...

, and Packwood Glacier, along with numerous smaller permanent snowfields. Goat Rocks Wilderness - Pano - Flickr - Joe Parks (1)

Major peaks in the Goat Rocks vicinity

The elevation of the Goat Rocks volcano and its immediate vicinity varies from to at its highest point, Gilbert Peak. Because of extensive glaciation and erosion, the peaks surrounding Goat Rocks are at most moderate in height.

Eruptive history

A Goat Rocks View from Takh Takh Lava Flow

Goat Rocks is a stratovolcano with a somewhat complicated eruptive history. It first became active approximately 3.2 million years ago during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58explosive eruptions that ejected

lava with highly felsic rocks like rhyolite. One of these events produced of

that remains, exposed, on the east flank of the existing mountain. This rhyolitic episode also produced the Devil's Horn caldera. The amount of rhyolite tuff exceeds 20 km³ (4 mi³). Three million years ago Goat Rocks shifted to

volcanism, erupting

olivine The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers quickl ...

and

. As eruptions continued into the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

epoch, the lava flows became increasingly

andesitic Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomin ...

, containing mostly pyroxene with

phenocryst 300px, feldspathic phenocrysts. This granite, from the Switzerland">Swiss side of the Mont Blanc massif, has large white plagioclase phenocrysts, triclinic minerals that give trapezoid shapes when cut through). 1 euro coins, 1 euro coin (diameter ...

s as well as

hornblende Hornblende is a complex inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common in igneous and metamorphic rock ...

minerals. These andesitic flows formed the volcano's major edifice between roughly 2.5 and 0.5 million years ago, which may have resembled contemporary Mount Rainier. At this point in time, Goat Rocks's eruptions had very high volumes and extended far from the volcano, possibly because multiple satellite vents contributed to eruptions. Approximately 1.64 million years ago, Goat Rocks generated an andesitic lava flow extending down the Naches and

Tieton River The Tieton River is a tributary of the Naches River, in Yakima County, Washington in the United States. The Tieton River begins in two forks, the North Fork Tieton River and South Fork Tieton River. The North Fork originates at McCall Glacier on ...

s, which has been recognized as the longest andesite flow on Earth having a total volume of 6.6 km³ (1.6 mi³). About 250,000 years after this andesite flow a second flow erupted from Bear Creek Mountain, the second flow took a similar path as the older one and had a total volume of 2.5 km³ (0.6 mi³). Many of the flows immediately surrounding the volcano have since been cut by intrusive

dikes Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

, which form a radial arrangement around the volcano's core. As erosion occurred on a large scale, the volcano remained active, producing more hornblende andesite lava flows. Eruptive activity continued at

Old Snowy Mountain Old Snowy Mountain () is located in the Goat Rocks on the border of Lewis and Yakima Counties, in the U.S. state of Washington. Old Snowy Mountain is within the Goat Rocks Wilderness in Gifford Pinchot National Forest Gifford Pinchot Nation ...

into the middle to late Pleistocene, yielding hornblende andesite lava flows that were subsequently glaciated in the

Cispus River The Cispus River is about long and flows into the Cowlitz River at Lake Scanewa in the Cascade Range of Washington. Its tributaries drain most of south-central and southeastern Lewis County, extreme northeast Skamania County, and some of wester ...

valley; whether Old Snowy Mountain is a vent of Goat Rocks or an independent volcano remains unclear. Hornblende andesite can also be found on top of the highest point in Goat Rocks, Gilbert Peak. Hogback Mountain, a shield volcano north of Goat Rocks and south of

White Pass White Pass, also known as the Dead Horse Trail, (elevation ) is a mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the border of the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia, Canada. It leads from Skagway, Ala ...

, was identified by Siebert et al. (2010) as a satellite vent of Goat Rocks. Rising in elevation, it erupted more than of olivine basalt and basaltic andesite from the end of the Pliocene through the early Pleistocene. Eruptions from Goat Rocks formed a spread-out

volcanic field A volcanic field is an area of Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity. The type and number of volcanoes required to be called a "field" is not well-defined. Volcanic fields usually consist of clusters of up to 100 volcanoes ...

populated by small

lava domes In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of erupti ...

to the north, with dimensions of by . Goat Rocks is now classified as an

extinct volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

, as its most recent eruptive activity was during the Pleistocene. The last eruption from the Goat Rocks complex occurred around 115,000 years ago. It was an effusive lava flow known as the Clear Fork Lava. The flow was primarily composed of

and flowed 12 km (7.5 mi) along the White Pass Highway. The flow has an estimated volume of 0.55 km³ (0.13 mi³).

Wilderness

Land surrounding Goat Rocks was first protected by the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

in February 1931, when approximately was set aside for preservation. In 1935, this was increased to of land, then to in 1940. In 1964, the United States Congress created the Goats Rock Wilderness as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, delegating its management to the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

. Since additional land was incorporated in 1984, it now encompasses between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams, straddling the

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsy ...

and Okanogan-

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

national forests. It is bordered by the

Yakama Indian Reservation The Yakama Indian Reservation (spelled Yakima until 1994) is a Native American reservation in Washington state of the federally recognized tribe known as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The tribe is made up of Klikitat, ...

to the southeast. The wilderness ranges from in elevation, featuring alpine tundras with glaciers, small lakes, and ponds, as well as 15 different routes that amount to of trails. One of these trails constitutes the highest segment of the famous

Pacific Crest 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 ...

in Washington, running for north–south through the middle of the wilderness area. Because this route is located at such a high elevation, its hikers may experience violent storms that could be dangerous for unprepared parties. Much of the wilderness is located above the timberline, offering views of alpine scenery.

Climate and wildlife

Weather within the Wilderness varies due to the mountains acting as a barrier for both weather and temperature. The Cascade Range mountains prevent wet storms from moving, forcing air to rise and then cool. This cooling air cannot hold as much moisture, causing heavy precipitation (up to in rainfall annually) on the western flanks of the mountains,Barstad, p. 1. which leads to extensive forestation. Snowfall typically totals more than annually, amounting to snow still being present as late as July or August. In warmer months, melted snow runs off into lakes, keeping them especially full. Because the mountains are so tall, storm clouds may get stuck even as the rest of the storm moves onward, leading to snowstorms and freezing temperatures year-round. In extreme conditions, these storm cells might endanger hikers by means of strong winds, fog, snow, and rain that can potentially make hiking nearly impossible. On the eastern sides of the mountains, air warms as it drops, producing Chinook winds, considerably lower precipitation, and less forested landscapes. Because of these conditions, temperatures on the western sides of mountains are steady, whereas temperatures on the eastern flanks fluctuate wildly. Goat Rocks obtained its name from a population of

s that can be observed around the mountain. Other fauna include

marmots Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, ...

and

pika A pika ( or ; archaically spelled pica) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America. With short limbs, very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but wi ...

s at high elevations.

Deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

and

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

can be found below the timberline, including

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

, mule deer-black-tailed hybrids,

Roosevelt elk The Roosevelt elk (''Cervus canadensis roosevelti)'', also known commonly as the Olympic elk and Roosevelt's wapiti, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk (''Cervus canadensis'') in North America by body mass (although by antl ...

, and

Rocky Mountain elk The Rocky Mountain elk (''Cervus canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of elk found in the Rocky Mountains and adjacent ranges of Western North America. Habitat The winter ranges are most common in open forests and floodplain marshes in the l ...

that were introduced from

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

in 1913.

Black-tailed deer Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer that occupy coastal woodlands in the Pacific Northwest of North America are subspecies of the mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus''). They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all r ...

are especially common.

Climbing and recreation

Old Snowy Mountain and Gilbert Peak, two of Goat Rocks's peaks, are frequented by hikers and

mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbin ...

. Both are considered remote summits, although Old Snowy Mountain is the more accessible of the two.Smoot, p. 345. This, coupled with its easier ascent, makes Old Snowy Mountain the more popular climb. There are several routes up the mountain, which take 5–6 hours, rising in elevation. Running for round-trip, Old Snowy can be

or climbed using glaciers, although a trail exists. From the summit, mountaineers can see Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier in the distance. Because this area has a lot of loose talus and rock, an avalanche hazard exists.Smoot, p. 347. The climb up Gilbert Peak was first completed by Fred G. Plummer in 1899. It also rises in elevation, lasting 6–8 hours and running for round-trip. Because the routes are longer and more technically challenging due to loose rock, scrambling Gilbert is generally considered more difficult than Old Snowy Mountain. Most climbers opt to mount Gilbert early in the climbing season when snow levels are low. Recreational activities permitted by the Forest Service at the Wilderness include day hiking, horse riding, and

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

. Because Goat Rocks is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, motor vehicles and means of transport are prohibited. These include bicycles, wagons, motorboats, and helicopters. A free permit is required for entry to the wilderness.

Resources

In terms of mineral resources, the Goat Rocks area can be divided into three segments, each rich with certain minerals. The first two are named Packwood Glacier–McCall Basin and Glacier Basin, and are located near past volcanic vents. These areas exhibit anomalous levels of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, molybdenum,

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

, and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

, well-dispersed levels of

pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...

, and sporadic concentrations of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

.Church and Close, p. 1064. Area C corresponds to the Clear Fork of the

Cowlitz River The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens. The Cowlitz has a d ...

and lies along the area of contact between Goat Rocks volcano and older volcanoes to the east. It is distinct from the other two study areas, featuring anomalous amounts of barium, cobalt, copper, and

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

, as well as smaller quantities of lead, molybdenum, nickel, and zinc. Other minerals found in Area C include barite, boron,

cinnabar Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the bri ...

, mercury, pyrite, and

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

in concentrates taken from stream-sediment. The water has high concentrations of

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine i ...

, copper, fluorine, and molybdenum, and altered rocks contain

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...

, lead, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc at especially high levels. The Goat Rocks vicinity seems to offer large

deposits. Outside the area studied, coal has been identified at the Packwood and Cowlitz fields, and building stones and gravel are being quarried to the north and west of the volcano. The Goat Rocks area's potential resources for oil and gas remain unidentified. Because no volcanic activity has occurred during the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

(within the past 11,700 years), Goat Rocks has very little potential for geothermal resources. Claims to three

lode In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fissure (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock. The current meaning (ore vein) dates from the 1 ...

mines and a single coal mine were made within the Goat Rocks Wilderness, but the

United States Bureau of Mines For most of the 20th century, the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary United States government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral ...

has no record of production from any of these claims. Historically, two claims have actually been staked in the area, the Mosquito lode near Walupt Lake in 1934, and later, the Glacier lode near Packwood Glacier in 1939. Neither show evidence of assessment work, and both deposits are now abandoned. Miners may have been drawn to the area by news of lode deposits containing

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

, silver, and copper along breccia and shear zones to the north of the wilderness area.Church et al., p. 7.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{Authority control Cascade Volcanoes Mountains of Washington (state) Volcanoes of Washington (state) Stratovolcanoes of the United States Extinct volcanoes Pliocene stratovolcanoes Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Landforms of Lewis County, Washington Landforms of Yakima County, Washington Mountains of Lewis County, Washington Mountains of Yakima County, Washington Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Geography and geology

Glaciation

Major peaks in the Goat Rocks vicinity

Eruptive history

Wilderness

Climate and wildlife

Climbing and recreation

Resources

See also

Notes

References

External links