Trask Mountain

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Coordinates: 45°22′17″N 123°27′23″W / 45.3714995, -123.4565007

Trask Mountain
Elevation 3,426 feet (1,044 m) [1]
Location Yamhill County, Oregon, USA
Range Northern Oregon Coast Range
Prominence 3,424 feet (1,044 m)[2]
Coordinates 45°22′17″N 123°27′23″W / 45.3714995, -123.4565007[3]
Topo map USGS Trask Mountain
Easiest route Trask Toll Road to just below the summit.[4]

Trask Mountain in the Northern Oregon Coast Range, is the tallest mountain in Yamhill County, Oregon.[5] It is located in the northwest corner of the county.[3] The mountain is named for Elbridge Trask,[citation needed] who settled west of the peak in Tillamook County in 1852.

Contents

[edit] Geology

The mountain is composed of mainly volcanic rock with some sedimentary rocks.[6] Like much of the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, the origins began around 40 million years ago during the Eocene period. During this era, sandstone and siltstone formed in the area.[7] Additionally, igneous rocks and basalt flows combined with basaltic sandstone to create many of the mountainous formations. The volcanic rocks come from basalt flows that covered much of Oregon that originated from fissures in the central portion of the state.[8] Additional sedimentary rock was formed more recently, around 20 million years ago.[7]

All of the coast range lies over a convergent tectonic margin interacting with the Juan de Fuca Plate that is subducting beneath North America tectonic plate in the Cascadia subduction zone.[9] The mountains are created by the plunging structural arch of sedimentary and Tertiary volcanic strata that is being uplifted.[8]

[edit] Flora and fauna

Vegetation in the area includes Sitka Spruce, Douglas-fir, Western Hemlock, Western Redcedar, Salmonberry, Red Alder, Western Sword Fern, and Vine Maple among many others.[10] Other plant life native to the mountains are Coptis laciniata, Salal, Oregon-grape, and Bracken Fern.[11][12][13]

Different insects can include spiders, beetles, and various centipedes.[13][11] Mammals include weasels, chipmunks, black bears, hares and deer.[11] Birds include kinglets, chickadees, woodpeckers, and jays.[11]

[edit] Other

In the northwest part of the county, the mountain is in private forest land owned by Weyerhaeuser.[14] Trask Mountain makes up a portion of the North Yamhill River headwaters that drain to the Willamette River.[6] On its north side, drainage is to the Trask River which flows west to the Pacific Ocean.[10] The mountain receives over 135 inches or precipitation each year.[6] The mountain is home to a U.S. Geologic Survey seismograph station that was installed in 1991.[15] Previously, the peak was home to a fire lookout station that was abandoned in the 1970s.[16] There are plans to construct a 50 Megawatt wind power facility atop the mountain beginning in 2009.[17]

In 1997 Lee John Knoch beat Robert Allen Holliday nearly to death and buried him alive on Trask Mountain.[18]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ NGS Data Sheet for TRASK. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  2. ^ Peakbagger.com: Trask Mountain. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  3. ^ a b USGS GNIS: Trask Mountain. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  4. ^ Jones, Ken. Yamhill County High Point Trip Report. County Highpointers. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  5. ^ Oregon County High Points. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  6. ^ a b c North Yamhill Watershed. Yamhill County. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  7. ^ a b Upper Nehalem Watershed Analysis. Oregon Department of Forestry. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  8. ^ a b Geologic Map of the Tillamook Highlands, Northwest Oregon Coast Range. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  9. ^ Geology of the Luckiamute River Watershed, Upper Willamette Basin, Polk and Benton Counties, Oregon. Western Oregon University. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  10. ^ a b ODF: Trask River Watershed.. Oregon Department of Forestry. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  11. ^ a b c d Macnab, James A. (January 1958). "Biotic Aspection in the Coast Range Mountains of Northwestern Oregon". Ecological Monographs Vol. 28 (No. 1): pp. 21–54. doi:10.2307/1942274. 
  12. ^ Management Recommendations for Spleenwort-leaved Goldthread. Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  13. ^ a b From the Forest to the Sea: A Story of Fallen Trees. Tree Dictionary. Retrieved on 2008-04-031.
  14. ^ Howbert, Jeff. Yamhill County High Point 2. County Highpointers. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  15. ^ Seismograph Station Codes Listed Alphabetically: T.. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  16. ^ McOmie, Grant. When 'Cloud Girls' watched over the woods. katu.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  17. ^ Trask Mountain: Yamhill County, Oregon. Everpower Renewables. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  18. ^ Tims, Dana. "Dundee man guilty of 1997 murder", The Oregonian, March 28, 1998. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Oregon Coast Range
Northern

Five highest peaks: Rogers Peak · South Saddle Mountain · Larch Mountain · Trask Mountain · Saddle Mountain
Central

Five highest peaks: Marys Peak · Grass Mountain · Laurel Mountain · Prairie Peak · Saddle Bag Mountain
Southern

Four highest peaks: Bone Mountain · Kenyon Mountain · Bear Mountain · Buzzard Rock
See also

Pacific Coast Ranges · Tualatin Mountains · Siskiyou Mountains · Calapooya Mountains · Oregon Coast