Mount Hood Ski Resort Northern Oregon

1. Bernice Poses for Us

We drove up to Mount Hood one sunny day just to see the place. Obviously it is not winter and we are not skiers but it was a nice place to visit and spend the day.

It is 45 miles (75 km) east-southeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount Hood is a stratovolcano made of lava flows, domes, and volcaniclastic deposits. Most of the volcano is andesite composition. The main cone of Mount Hood formed about 500,000 years ago. In the last 15,000 years the volcano has had four eruptive periods. During the most recent eruptive period, 250-180 years ago, lava domes collapsed and produced numerous pyroclastic flows and lahars which buried the southwest flank of the mountain. Crater Rock, a prominent rocky pinnacle just below the summit, is the most recent lava dome. Similar eruptions in the future pose the greatest risk to communities on the flank of the volcano.