Hi All. How many know the location of the largest volcano in the Cascade Range? It is the northeastern part of California just northeast of Mt. Shasta.

The Medicine Lake volcano is the most massive of the fifteen or so major volcanic cones that dominate the Cascade Range. Because Medicine Lake is a shield volcano that stands 50 km east of the Cascade crest and has a summit elevation of only 2,398 m (7,913 ft), it is less well known than the more prominent stratovolcanoes that define the range's skyline.

Roughly 20 miles in diameter the highlands mark the eastern boundary of the Cascade Range. The most diverse and least visited of the Cascade Range volcanoes, the Medicine Lake Highland region where there are hundreds of unique features and formations.

According to local history the name Medicine Lake, came from the Indian tradition in this area. The local Indians held their "big medicine" rights here and, apparently, puberty rites.

Another theory for the name from Indian times stated that the lake and nearby herbs proved to be of healing value to exhausted travelers.

The growth of Medicine Lake was started by an eruption of rather fluid andesitic lavas, which built a broad shield volcano, which volcanoes built almost entirely of fluid lava flows.

As the growth of Medicine Lake's shield volcano was occurring more lava was forced up along the fractures forming volcanoes. Eruptions continued pouring lava into the caldera until the cones were high enough to discharge flows down the side of the original shield volcano. As a result the fractures were sealed, the walls of calderas were hidden and the basin was surrounded by the rampart of cones.

Recent faulting has developed small scarps and some of the recent volcanic activity has centered along these fractures, forming cinder cones and lava cones. The number of cinder cones exceeds 100 and the latest of them have been formed with in the last 500 years.

Glass Mountain, the most recent of the major volcanic activity occurred about 300 years ago. For those who want to see some volcanic glass this is the place to go. Obsidian (volcanic glass) was quarried from flows at Glass Mountain by the Modoc, Achemawi, Shasta, and Wintu Indians and was traded to other Indian groups more than 100 miles away.

I use to deer hunt in and around that area back in the mid 70s. I could be in that area for days and not see another human being. I doubt that is the case now. However that does not mean that the place is filled with people either.
During the times I was there I was aware of the smaller volcanos that were in the area and was most certainly aware of Mt. Shasta. However I never knew that Medicine Lake was a volcano. It just doesn’t look like the volcanos that I’m use to seeing. Because of it most recent activity I believe it is still listed as an active volcano. Take Care…Don in creepy town.

• Medicine Lake