Goat Rocks

Infobox Mountain
Name=Goat Rocks
Photo=Gilbert 14A.jpg
Caption= The Goat Rocks, with Gilbert Peak at upper left
Elevation=Convert|8184|ft|m|0|abbr=on
Location=Washington, USA
Range=Cascade Range
Prominence =
Coordinates = coord|46|29|19|N|121|24|21|W|type:mountain_region:CA|display=inline,title
Topographic
USGS Old Snowy Mountain, Walupt Lake
Type=Dissected Stratovolcano
Volcanic_Arc/Belt=Cascade Volcanic Arc
Age= 3.2 million - 730,000 years
Last eruption=
First ascent= Fred G. Plummer, 1899
Easiest route=Scrambling

Goat Rocks is the name of a series of rugged volcanic peaks in the Cascade Range, roughly between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams in southern Washington state. Goat Rocks is named after the numerous mountain goats which live in the area, and is at the core of the eponymous Goat Rocks Wilderness.

The peaks are the eroded remnants of a once-great stratovolcano, termed the Goat Rocks volcano, which about 2 million years ago might have been similar to the current large stratovolcanoes in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, reaching over Convert|10000|ft|m|-2 high. Once the volcanic eruptions came to an end, the ongoing forces of glacial erosion stripped away the outer layers of volcanic ash deposits and lava flows, uncovering the rocky lava spines where magma had cooled and hardened within the conduits of the volcano. The current eroded volcano has numerous summits reaching about Convert|8000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on|abbr=on.

The Goat Rocks area is notable for its extensive glaciers, despite the modest elevation and southerly location relative to the rest of the Washington Cascades. Five glaciers mantle the north and northeast slopes of the peaks, along with numerous smaller permanent snowfields. The highest point on the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington is at 7,200 ft (2,200 m) on the northwest flank of Old Snowy Mountain, where the trail crosses the edge of the Packwood Glacier.

The remnant core of the Goat Rocks Volcano is Egg Butte, located northeast of Old Snowy Mountain in the valley carved by the ice age Packwood Glacier. Similar to the lava spines remaining on the ridges to the south and east of Old Snowy Mountain, the dense core became exposed after the Packwood Glacier removed the softer ash and broken flows around it.

At the base of the valley lies Packwood Lake, formed behind the terminal moraine created by the [ice age] Packwood Glacier, evidence of the large amount of volcanic material stripped away by the glacier.

__NOTOC__

List of major peaks

* Gilbert Peak (Mount Curtis Gilbert) Convert|8184|ft|m|0|abbr=on
* Old Snowy Mountain Convert|7930|ft|m|0|abbr=on
* Ives Peak Convert|7840|ft|m|0|abbr=on
* Tieton Peak Convert|7768|ft|m|0|abbr=on
* Johnson Peak Convert|7487|ft|m|0|abbr=on
* Bear Creek Mountain Convert|7336|ft|m|0|abbr=on
* Hogback Mountain Convert|6789|ft|m|0|abbr=on

List of glaciers

*Conrad Glacier
*McCall Glacier
*Meade Glacier
*Packwood Glacier
*Tieton Glacier

ee also

*Cascade Volcanoes
*Cascade Range
*Goat Rocks Wilderness

References

*
*
*
*

External links

* [http://www.skimountaineer.com/CascadeSki/CascadeSki.php?name=GoatRocks Skiing the Cascade Volcanoes: Goat Rocks]