Shastina is a

satellite cone A parasitic cone (also adventive cone or satellite cone) is the cone-shaped accumulation of volcanic material not part of the central vent of a volcano. It forms from eruptions from fractures on the flank of the volcano. These fractures occur ...

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of , it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades ...

. It is the highest of four overlapping volcanic cones which together form the most voluminous

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

in the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

. At , Shastina is taller than Mount Adams and would rank as the third highest volcano in the Cascades behind

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 ...

and Shasta were it not nestled on the western flank of its higher neighbor. Shastina has a

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of over above the

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

connecting it with Shasta and easily exceeds the typical

mountaineering 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 climbing, a ...

standard of for a peak to qualify as an independent summit, yet most lists of Cascade volcanoes omit it nonetheless. The name "Shastina" is a

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

of Shasta. Shastina was formed during a VEI-4 eruption around 7650 BC that also involved activity at the summit of Mount Shasta and the Red Banks on Shasta's south flank.

Geological features

Shastina has the general form of a smooth-sided cone truncated by a one half-mile (0.8 km) diameter summit

crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...

, but with several geological features which make it unique among other volcanoes in the

Cascade Volcanic Arc 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 Califo ...

. The most prominent feature when seen from lowland viewpoints is Diller Canyon, a large cleft carved into the western flank by

pyroclastic flows A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...

and since expanded by erosion. It extends from the crater rim near down for over 7,000 vertical feet (2,100 m) towards the town of

Weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

in the valley below, and is by far the largest such feature found on any of the Cascade volcanoes. Unseen except by mountaineers and fliers are the three small

crater lake Crater Lake (Klamath language, 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 ...

s nestled among the cones and ridges of the summit crater, which rarely melt free of snow until late summer.

Clarence King Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. Hay ...

Lake at occupies the center of the crater, while Sisson Lake lies at on the eastern side. Highest of all is an unnamed lake at over on the south side of the cinder cone which forms Shastina's true summit. These lakes are the highest

subaerial In natural science, subaerial (literally "under the air"), has been used since 1833,Subaerial
in the Merriam ...

lakes in the entire Cascade Range, exceeded only by the subglacial lake beneath the ice of Mount Rainier's summit crater.

Climbing and skiing

Shastina is most commonly and easily climbed via the Cascade Gulch route, which ascends from Hidden Valley diagonally up to the Shasta-Shastina saddle, and then continuing up the eastern flank of Shastina's cone to its summit. For most mountaineers, it represents only a quick side trip on the downclimb after summiting Shasta. But for

ski mountaineer Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipmen ...

s, Shastina presents a reasonable climb in its own right in return for several exceptional ski descents, including Diller Canyon, the North Face, and the South Face.

References

* * * * {{authority control Mount Shasta Cascade Range Cascade Volcanoes Subduction volcanoes Stratovolcanoes of the United States Lakes of Siskiyou County, California Volcanic crater lakes Volcanoes of Siskiyou County, California Parasitic cones Lakes of California Volcanoes of California Cinder cones of the United States Lakes of Northern California Holocene stratovolcanoes