Just off of the Hurricane Loop Trail towards the east, before the
Ranger station is Klahhane Ridge Trail. The trail gradually ascends
up approx .3 miles from parking lot where you will come to a
“Y” the trail to the right goes towards the summit of
Mount Angeles, and continues the full loop of the Klahhane trail of
12.6 miles. Take the left trail which has a steady climb of approx
.2 miles and ends at a lookout view of Hurricane Ridge Road, Mount
Angeles, and the East Olympics.
The Olympic mountains are not especially high - Mount Olympus is
the highest at 7,962 ft - but the western slopes of the Olympics
rise directly out of the Pacific Ocean and are the wettest place in
the 48 contiguous states which supports its own rainforest!
The Olympics are made up of an abducted caustic wedge material
and oceanic crust. They are primarily Eocene sandstones,
turbidities, and basaltic oceanic crust.
Millions of years ago, vents and fissures opened under the Pacific
Ocean and lava flowed out, creating huge underwater mountains and
ranges called seamounts.
The plates that formed the ocean floor; the plate of Juan de
Fuca inched toward North America about 35 million years ago and
most of the sea floor. Juan De Fuca plate went beneath the
continental land mass also known as the North American plate,
because it is heavier. The junction where these two plates meet is
called the subduction zone. Oddly enough this subduction zone does
not cause earthquakes and tremors like most which have scientists
puzzled. Yet two theories have developed:
The Juan de Fuca plate is young, when it subducts, it is still
relatively warm and buoyant compared to older subducting plates.
For this reason, considerable strain may be building by forcing the
buoyant oceanic plate to squeeze under the continental plate. On
the other hand, if the plate is warm enough, then the rocks at the
interface may be more pliable than brittle, enabling the plates to
slide without locking together. And some scientists believe the
area is just building pressure and is due for a “quake of the
century”. –let’s hope not.
During the subduction process some of the sea floor, was scraped
off and jammed against the mainland, creating the dome that was the
ancestor of today's Olympics. Powerful forces fractured, folded,
and over-turned rock formations, which helps explain the jumbled
appearance of today’s Olympics. For this earth cache you will
be getting a better look and climb one of these rock
formations.Below is a diagram of rock classification. If you are
not familiar with the terms you might need to do some research.
Click on the picture to enlarge.
TO EARN CREDIT FOR THIS EARTHCACHE:
1. In an email send the measurement of elevation at the
lookout.
2. What is the difference in elevation from the lookout to the
height of mount Angeles?
3. Based on the last paragraph, the classification chart, and
your observations of the rocky peaks of Mount Angeles, what kind of
rock is Mount Angeles and the Olympics?
4. Post a picture in the gallery of yourself at the lookout with
GPS.
* FTF goes to MountainShadow *
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