Belknap Shield Volcano, Oregon

Belknap84_belknap_shield_volcano_10-01-84.jpg
Belknap Shield Volcano, Oregon. View from McKenzie Pass.
USGS Photograph taken on October 1, 1984, by Lyn Topinka.
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Belknap Shield Volcano and Points of Interest

Belknap Shield Volcano
-- Geographic Setting, Geologic and Eruptive History
Belknap Crater is the focal point of a long-continued and complex episode of Holocene basalt and basaltic andesite volcanism. The broad shield is 5 miles in diameter; it is estimated to be 1,700 feet in maximum thickness and 1.3 cubic miles in volume. The volcano probably contains a core of cinders which interfingers with peripheral lavas and whose surface expression is the summit cone. Basaltic andesite issued from vents at the north and south bases of the cone approximately 1,500 years ago. -- Excerpt from: Taylor, 1981
Dee Wright Observatory
The Dee Wright Observatory is a stone memorial to the famed architect Dee Wright. It is located in the middle of a massive lava flow and offers panoramic views of the Cascade Mountain Range, as far north as Mount Hood. A barrier free access trail takes visitors to an interpretive court, offering information on the history of the structure built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corp. At the top of the observatory, a bronze peak finder points to geologic features amidst sweeping lava fields. The half-mile Lava River Interpretive Trail takes visitors on a 30-minute walk on a paved surface through lava flows with spectacular vistas of the surrounding landscape. -- Information courtesy: Stacy Smith, USFS, 2000, National Scenic Byways Online Website

To Get There

From Eugene, Oregon:
Follow U. S. 126 eastward to the junction with Oregon 242, then on 242 to McKenzie Pass.

From Sisters, Oregon:
Follow 242 westward to McKenzie Pass. Highways are paved but closed by snow during later fall, winter, and spring.

-- Driving excerpts from: Taylor, 1990, IN: Wood and Kienle, (eds.), Volcanoes of North America: United States and Canada: Cambridge University Press

Location Maps

[Map,17K,InlineGIF]
Bend/Sisters/Santiam Pass/McKenzie Pass Area

[Map,21K,InlineGIF]
Central Oregon High Cascades

Useful Links

Central Oregon Visitors Association
Deschutes National Forest and Willamette National Forest -- U.S. Forest Service websites, scroll to desired Forest
MORE Useful Sites -- CVO Menu, includes links to Volcano Info, National Forests, Travel and Tourism Sites, Maps, Weather, Road Conditions, etc.
A Nearby Major City is Bend, Oregon

For More Information

Belknap Shield Volcano Menu

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URL for CVO HomePage is: <http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/home.html>
URL for this page is: <http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Belknap/Locale/framework.html>
If you have questions or comments please contact: <GS-CVO-WEB@usgs.gov>
04/15/08, Lyn Topinka