Lemei Rock
Geographical setting
Lemei Rock is the highest peak within the Indian Heaven Wilderness in Washington. Lemei Rock has a topographic prominence of 2,405 feet (733 m). On clear days hikers can see views of four nearby volcanoes: Mount Adams, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Rainier. The shield volcano is topped by a volcanic crater. While the crater rim is free of snow and ice, snow tends to linger on the summit well into July. A small crater lake by the name of Lake Wapiki, occupies the crater below the Lemei Rock high point. The Lost and Dry Creeks flow off of the southeast side of Lemei Rock and join the White Salmon River, while the Smokey, Little Goose, and Cultus flow from the east and northeast side, and joins Trout Lake Creek, which then discharges into the White Salmon River at Trout Lake. The Rush Creek flows from the west side of Lemei Rock and joins the Lewis River between the Lower Lewis River Falls Recreation Area and the Swift Reservoir.
Geology
Lemei Rock is one of the many shield volcanoes topped by cinder cones and spatter cones that make up the Indian Heaven Volcanic Field. About 60 eruptive centers lie on the 19-mile (30 km) long, N10°E-trending, Indian Heaven fissure zone. The 230 square miles (600 km) field has a volume of about 20 cubic miles (100 km) and forms the western part of a 770-square-mile (2,000 km) Quaternary basalt field in the southern Washington Cascades, including the King Mountain fissure zone along which Mount Adams was built.
Name | Elevation | Location | Last eruption | |
meters | feet | Coordinates | ||
Big Lava Bed | 1,278.6 | 4,195 | 45°54′N 121°45′W / 45.9°N 121.75°W | ~8150 years ago |
Bird Mountain | 5,706 | 1,739 | 46°02′21″N 121°46′52″W / 46.0392°N 121.78106°W | |
Crazy Hills | ||||
East Crater | 1,614 | 5,295 | 46°00′N 121°47′W / 46°N 121.78°W | |
Gifford Peak | 1,614 | 5,295 | ||
Lemei Rock | 1,806 | 5,925 | 46°1′6″N 121°45′36″W / 46.01833°N 121.76000°W | |
Lone Butte | 1,457 | 4,780 | 46°03′N 121°52′W / 46.05°N 121.87°W | |
Red Mountain | 1,513 | 4,964 | 45°56′N 121°49′W / 45.93°N 121.82°W | |
Sawtooth Mountain | 1,632 | 5,354 | 46°04′N 121°47′W / 46.07°N 121.78°W |
Climbing and recreation
Fishing and hiking destinations in the volcanic field around Lemei Rock include the Indian Heaven Wilderness, which is known for the high mountain meadows among its scattered volcanic peaks. The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail passes north/south through the volcanic field and the Indian Heaven Wilderness, which is known for its lakes and views of four nearby volcanoes: Mount Adams, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Rainier. Major trails at Lemei Rock are the Lemei Trail, which climbs up the east side of Lemei Rock; and Wapiki Trail, which descends from the Lemei Trail to the deep blue Wapiki Lake, the "crater lake" of Lemei Rock. The Filloon Trail departs from the rustic Little Goose Campground and meets up with Lemei Trail before Lake Comcomly.
The fifty-site Cultus Creek Campground, a destination for berry pickers, is located right at the edge of the Indian Heaven Wilderness. Cultus Creek Campground offers visitors two major trail heads (Indian Heaven Trail #33 and Cultus Creek Trail #108) and huckleberry picking access to the Indian Heaven Wilderness, known for its huckleberries, and the volcanic field in which it resides.
See also
References
- ^ "Lemei Rock". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
- ^ "Indian Heaven: Synonyms & Subfeatures". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ Wood, Charles A.; Jűrgen Kienle (1993). Volcanoes of North America. Cambridge University Press. pp. 166–167. ISBN 0-521-43811-X.
- ^ "Lemei Rock - Peakbagger.com".
- ^ Gifford Pinchot National Forest: Recreation: Cultus Creek Campground. US Forest Service
- ^ Gifford Pinchot National Forest: Indian Heaven Wilderness Overview/Background. US Forest Service
External links
- Gifford Pinchot National Forest - Indian Heaven Wilderness
- USGS - Indian Heaven Volcanic Field
- Lemei Rock
- Indian Heaven Wilderness Overview/Background
- Gifford Pinchot National Forest: Cultus Creek Campground
- Trail #34 Lemei Trail
- Printable Indian Heaven Wilderness Trail Vicinity Map (PDF 85 K, Adobe Acrobat)