Essay --

Why Mt. Lassen is what it is today Lassen Peak, also known as Mount Lassen, is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range. It is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc which is an arc that covers southwestern British Columbia to northern California. Located in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, Lassen rises 2,000 meters above the surrounding terrain and has a volume of 0.5 cubic miles, making it one of the largest lava domes on Earth. It was created on the destroyed northeastern side of now gone Mount Tehama, a stratovolcano that was at least 1,000 feet higher than Lassen Peak. Lassen Peak was named in honor of the Danish blacksmith Peter Lassen, who guided immigrants past this peak to the Sacramento Valley during the 1830s. His trail never found global long-term use because it was considered unsafe. This trail was replaced by the Nobles Emigrant Trail, named for the guide, William Nobles. In 1864, Helen Tanner Brodt became the first woman to reach the summit of Lassen Peak. A tarn lake on Lassen Peak was named "Lake Helen" in her honor. In the 1914 to 1921 time zone, Lassen Peak emerged from inactivity with a series of steam explosions, dacite lava flows, and volcanic mud flows. There were 200 to 400 volcanic eruptions during this period of activity. Because of the eruptive activity and the area's brilliant volcanic beauty, Lassen Peak, Cinder Cone and the area surrounding were designated as the Lassen Volcanic National Park on August 9, 1916. Mt. Lassen eruptions On May 22, 1915, an explosive eruption at Lassen Peak devastated nearby areas and rained volcanic ash farther 200 miles to the east! This explosion was the most powerful in a series of eruptions from 1914 through 1917. ... ...e than 30 volcanoes that have erupted over the past 300,000 years in the Lassen Peak volcanic area. 6. Lassen Peak has the highest known winter snowfall amounts in California. There is an average annual snowfall of 660 in, and in some years, more than 1,000 inches of snowfall at its base altitude of 8,250 feet at Lake Helen. 7. The Mount Lassen area receives more precipitation than anywhere in the Cascade Range south of the Three Sisters volcanoes in Oregon. 8. The heavy annual snowfall on Lassen Peak creates fourteen permanent patches of snow on and around the mountain top, despite Lassen's rather modest elevation, but no glaciers. 9. Lightning has been known to strike the summit of the volcano frequently during summer thunderstorms. 10. Lassen Peak and Mount St. Helens are the only two volcanoes in the contiguous United States to erupt during the 20th century.