Larch Mountain is 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 ...

near Portland,

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 name is misleading, as no

western larch The western larch (''Larix occidentalis'') is a species of larch native to the mountains of western North America (Pacific Northwest, Inland Northwest); in Canada in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, and in the United State ...

(a large coniferous tree) can be found there. It received that name when early lumbermen sold the

noble fir ''Abies procera'', the noble fir, also called red fir and Christmas tree, is a species of fir native to the Cascade Range and Pacific Coast Ranges of the northwestern Pacific Coast of the United States. It occurs at altitudes of . Description ' ...

wood as larch. The peak can be reached between May and November on paved Larch Mountain Road, east of

Corbett, Oregon Corbett is an unincorporated community on the Columbia River in eastern Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. It is located on the Historic Columbia River Highway (a.k.a. Crown Point Highway) between the Sandy River and Crown Point. Corbett ...

, although the road is closed during the winter and spring months. The road leading to Larch Mountain from the Historic Columbia River Highway is 14 miles long, which closed at milepost 10 from Nov. through late May or early June due to snow.

Geography

Larch Mountain is located in

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...

approximately east of Portland, above the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the st ...

. Although it has an elevation of , its prominence above the surrounding terrain is only . The summit of the mountain is accessible by Larch Mountain Road between May and November, which branches off from the

Historic Columbia River Highway The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale and The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the first planned scenic roadway in the United ...

east of Corbett. Due to the risk of driving on the mountain's upper slopes in winter weather, the road closes during the winter months at milepost 10.

History

In 1879, Amos James Moore was the first known person to advocate for the logging and settling of Larch Mountain. Attractive due to its proximity to Portland and the Columbia River, it contained what were considered some of the highest-quality

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

, hemlock, and fir trees in the United States. In 1886, the Bridal Veil Lumbering Company started logging and constructed a lumber mill, followed a year later by the Latourrel Falls Wagon Road and Lumber Company. The operation rapidly expanded with the construction of a wooden plank road extending from Larch Mountain to the railroad line near the river, allowing for the large-scale logging of the mountain. The Bridal Veil Lumbering company became known for the high quality of its timber. In 1902, a fire swept through one of the mills, completely destroying it as well as the town. Both were soon rebuilt in new locations. This event is often heralded as the start of the decline of the large-scale Victorian logging practices, which were replaced by more modern techniques. Only a few remnants of the former system exist today. Logging continued in the new forms on the mountain for several more decades. In 1928, 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 ...

began reforesting the slopes of Larch Mountain, so that more lumber could be produced. A fire in 1936 marked the end of the timber business on the mountain. Causing around $100,000 of damage, it severely damaged the lumber mill, which was not rebuilt due to the depletion of the timber supply on the mountain.

Geology

Larch Mountain is the remnant of an ancient shield volcano, with broad slopes covering tens of square kilometers. It is currently the tallest peak in the Boring Lava Field, a

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 ...

active during the

Plio-Pleistocene The Plio-Pleistocene is an informally described geological pseudo-period, which begins about 5 million years ago (Mya) and, drawing forward, combines the time ranges of the formally defined Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs—marking from about 5&nb ...

time frame. Active between 1.8 and 1.4 million years ago, the volcano is composed mainly of

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 ...

s, although the summit at Sherrard Point is composed mainly of iron-rich

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 ...

. Larch Mountain's basalt is tough to distinguish from the surrounding

Columbia River Basalt The Columbia River Basalt Group is the youngest, smallest and one of the best-preserved continental large igneous province, flood basalt province on Earth, covering over mainly eastern Oregon and Washington (state), Washington, western Idaho, a ...

, although the Columbia River Basalt is slightly lighter in color and less

brittle A material is brittle if, when subjected to stress, it fractures with little elastic deformation and without significant plastic deformation. Brittle materials absorb relatively little energy prior to fracture, even those of high strength. Br ...

. Sherrard Point is the eroded remains of the original

volcanic plug A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if rising volatile-charged ma ...

. Sherrard Point was exposed during the last glacial period, when the majority of the mountain's peak was destroyed by

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s. The glaciers carved a large cirque into the mountain, forming a large lake. Over time, the lake was filled with sediment, and today the area is now a large meadow.

Biology

Larch Mountain contains some of the largest old-growth forest stands left in the Columbia River Gorge area, characterized by the presence of many

nurse log A nurse log is a fallen tree which, as it decays, provides ecological facilitation to seedlings. Broader definitions include providing shade or support to other plants. Some of the advantages a nurse log offers to a seedling are: water, moss thickn ...

s. Dominant tree species include pacific silver fir,

grand fir ''Abies grandis'' (grand fir, giant fir, lowland white fir, great silver fir, western white fir, Vancouver fir, or Oregon fir) is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest and Northern California of North America, occurring at altitudes of sea leve ...

, Douglas fir, and

western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma ...

Recreation

The Larch Mountain area contains multiple popular

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

s. The Larch Mountain Trail #441 begins near the Columbia River at the Multnomah Falls Lodge and roughly follows Multnomah Creek, passing several

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

s including the well-known

Multnomah Falls Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, between Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway and Interstate 84. ...

, Weisendanger Falls, and Ecola Falls. The trail ends at the Larch Mountain parking lot, at a picnic area. The Sherrard Point Trail #443 leads from this area to Sherrard Point at the pinnacle. Sherrard Point offers an outstanding view of the nearby Cascade Range volcanoes Mount Hood, Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson, 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 ...

. Elevation plaques are provided, showing the elevation of said volcanoes. A loop around Larch Mountain itself is formed by the Larch Mountain Trail, the Multnomah Creek Way Trail #444, and the Oneonta Trail #424.

Gallery

File:Larch Mountain.JPG, View from the summit with Mount Hood in the distance. File:Creek on Larch Mountain-Oregon.jpg, A creek in Larch Mountain forest. File:Creek and old-growth forest-Larch Mountain.jpg, Old-growth forest File:Larch_Mountain_Oregon_Trail_Plaque.jpg, Larch Mountain Trail plaque File:Larch Mountain View.jpg, View of Mt St Helens from the summit of Larch Mountain

References

{{Volcanoes of Oregon , state=collapsed Cascade Range Cascade Volcanoes Volcanoes of Oregon Mountains of Oregon Columbia River Gorge Subduction volcanoes Extinct volcanoes Volcanoes of Multnomah County, Oregon Landforms of Multnomah County, Oregon Shield volcanoes of the United States Pleistocene shield volcanoes