Cones of Mount Shasta reveal past volcanic eruptions

Mount Shasta, California Layers of pyroclastic deposits along Interstate 5 Photograph by S.R. Brantley on 2 July 1994

Mount Shasta volcano consists of at least 5 separate cones that were built at different times during the past several hundred thousand years. Each new cone has a different appearance or "face" because of the different sequence of eruptions that built the cones and the varying lengths of time that erosion has had to tear away the cones. These overlapping cones were built upon the stump of an even older volcanic cone that was destroyed by an ancient landslide more than 300,000 years ago. Although each cone or "face" of the volcano has its own eruptive history, together the many faces tell the story of the past and help us anticipate future behavior.

Explore the "faces" of Mount Shasta volcano

	Landslide deposit at base of Mount Shasta	Collapse of ancestral Mount Shasta View is toward the south from Shasta Valley landslide back toward its source, where Mount Shasta stands today.
	Sargents Ridge, Mount Shasta	The face of the Sargents Ridge cone View northwest up Mud Creek towards Sargents Ridge and the Konwakiton Glacier.
	Misery Hill cone, Mount Shasta	The face of the Misery Hill cone Aerial view northeast toward the Misery Hill cone of Mount Shasta.
	Shastina cone, Mount Shasta	The face of the Shastina cone Aerial view southeast toward Mount Shasta, with the Shastina cone on its western side.
	Hotlum cone, Mount Shasta	The face of the Hotlum cone Aerial view southwest to the summit of Mount Shasta and the Wintun and Hotlum Glaciers.

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