The snow-capped Cascades Range is part of the larger Coast Range. The Cascades extend roughly 711 miles from British Columbia south through Washington state, Oregon, and into extreme northern California. The highest point is Mt. Rainier in Washington state (14,411 feet). The Cascades Range is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the "ring" of volcanoes throughout the Pacific Coast. All major volcanic eruptions in the lower 48 states in the last century have occurred within the Cascades Range. The most notable of these eruptions was the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, which was so powerful that it deposited ash in 11 states. The eruption caused the total collapase of the north side of the mountain which resulted in the largest landslide ever recorded. |
