Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes

by Stephen L. Harris

Fire Mountains of the West is a completely revised, thoroughly researched account of the volatile history and deadly potential of volcanic activity from California to southwestern British Columbia. The heart of the book is a fascinating biography of each of the major volcanoes of the West. From the subterranean lava tube caves of the Medicine Lake volcano to the fire-and-ice formation of Mount Garibaldi, from the cataclysmic collapse of Crater Lake to the incinerating blast of modern Mount St. Helens, and from deadly volcanic gas currently killing trees at Mammoth Mountain to massive mudflows waiting to burst from Mount Ranier, the book brings to life in dynamic, crystal-clear language the geologic story of our western mountainscape.

Genres: Nonfiction, Geology, Science, Outdoors, Travel

454 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen L. Harris is Professor Emeritus of Humanities and Religious Studies at California State University, Sacramento, where he served ten years as department chair. A Woodrow Wilson Fellow, he received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University. A member of the Society of Biblical Literature, his publications include Understanding the Bible (8th edition, 2011); The Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (with Robert Platzner); Classical Mythology: Images and Insights (with Gloria Platzner); Exploring the Bible; and Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes, a survey of volcanic hazards on the U.S. Pacific Coast; and for National Geographic Books, Restless Earth, a study of global earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. He contributed the chapter on “Archaeology and Volcanism” to the Encyclopedia of Volcanoes (Academic Press, 2000).

Reviews

[Brittney Crocker · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 5 year old and I read this together. Although it was pretty wordy, he enjoyed learning about the volcanoes in our state and enthusiastically told everyone who'd listen about them. Solid read!

[Nikky Southerland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, you're know what you're getting in to with this book. If you wanna learn more about the Cascade volcanoes, this is a good summary of the various geologic surveys that exist for each one. Some mountains are better covered than others (a function of some simply being more extensively researched), but the most interesting/proximate ones are fairly well represented.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the part about Mt Lassen before going there.

[P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever driven by Mono Lake, or the Cascade Mountains and wondered what happened here? Why is there an entire mountain of cinders in the middle of a barren Mono Lake? What happened at Crater Lake and why is it such a scenic site?

Well, this book answers those questions and more and makes some sense out of the geography. For you "Creationists" and "Intelligent Design" folks, it corresponds to Days 2&3.

Individual chapters are devoted to the major Cascade peaks, including the Garabaldis. Chapters are also devoted to Lassen Peak, and the Mono Lake region. The discussion of Mt. Mazama and its explosion is concise and understandable.

This book should be consulted by anyone who goes to Cascadia or Mono.

[Smitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great background information on the geology and natural history of the Cascades. On a recent trip to Oregon, this provided loads of interestingly-written information both for casual travelers (my friends) and for more ardent geology enthusiasts (like me). I'll be hanging onto this for future forays to non-Oregonian Cascade volcanoes.

[Elizabethawickstrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is obviously a nonfiction book; I have borrowed it from Susan Sakimoto. It is written for the lay person. I am learning some interesting stuff but I think when I get to the chapters devoted to individual mountains, i will only read those on the ones I'm interested in.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly readable. Now I know all sorts of useful things like Mt. Rainier is only 500,000 years old and that there are ice caves on the top of it.

[Marty Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good reading. Detailed without being dry. Watch out Shasta/Weed and Seattle/Tacoma.