I was flying from Seattle to San Diego, looking out the west side of the plane. About 15 minutes south of Mt Hood, I saw these three glaciers surrounding a small crater. I’ve spent a lot of time on Google maps but can’t seem to figure out what they are! Any help would be much appreciated.
IN OREGON. Yikes, this posted too fast. Per above, saw these glaciers and small crater. Didn’t seem to be a mountain peak and there was a road winding through them. Let me change my avatar…and there is what I saw.
Crater lake?
http://www.craterlakeinstitute.com/online-library/nature-notes/vol14-retreat-mazama-glaciers.htm
Can’t be Crater Lake since it’s three glaciers around a small crater with a roadway rather than one large lake inside a crater. Possibly Collier Glacier?
Anything here?
I’ve hunted online quite a bit; hoping that someone recognizes it.
Maybe @busdriver11 has flown over that area and might know? :-?
South Sister?
A good resource for that area:
http://glaciers.research.pdx.edu/glaciers-oregon
The only Oregon volcano I know with roads on it would be Mount Bachelor. South Sister is pretty remote, though you can walk up it in the summer. I will show the picture to a friend who has spent a lot more time climbing down that way. You sure they are glaciers and not snow fields? There is still a ton of snow above 5000’ up our way.
@Magnetron, thanks, based on more hunting maybe the road is the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway? It looks like the way the road twists and turns by Spark’s Lake. It’s very hard to tell with the different snow cover on Google maps!
I had thought they were glaciers between the two snow fields on the right, and also a small one on the left, but perhaps they are actually snow covered lava flows? That would explain the flowing/spilling pattern that made me think “glaciers”. All the other lava flows I’ve seen are in warm weather climates!
I’m going to guess the area around Newberry volcano, a nicely formed crater, but those would not be glaciers.
Yes, @Magnetron , thank you, perfect match! (That’s you on city data, right?)
No, not me on city data, I checked the topo maps. We took the kids there about 6 years ago, an interesting park just south of Bend (love Bend, went again last year with two of the kids). Even though the eruption was over 1000 years ago it is still largely bare lava, part of being in a high desert. They have a boardwalk with signs pointing out some of the interesting facts. Two of those snow fields are high lakes, still frozen. You can go to the top of the cone in the park.
A lot of people combine that tour with the lava caves near there, but we skipped them and went to the High Desert Museum instead.
Sorry, I know the guy on city data is a crossover poster with different screen names. Sounds like an interesting visit but I was about 35,000 feet too high to appreciate it.
Changed my picture to airplane view over San Diego. I know where this is!