CHS 2 Hike - Hawkeye Point

3. Tectonic Volcanism

“Buried ocean, wrung dry by the depths, whispers water into stone–and from the dark, fire is born.”

Washington’s active and explosive volcanoes rise where the ocean meets deep earth. As the Juan de Fuca Plate sinks beneath North America, water locked in the rock is released, fueling magma chambers deep below the Cascades. Over time, this furnace has built the region’s iconic stratovolcanoes—steep, layered mountains shaped by countless eruptions. On this hike, we will walk among the remnants of ancient lava flows and see the quiet marks of a process still at work, sculpting the Pacific Northwest in fire and stone.

July Hike: Goat Rocks Wilderness, Hawkeye Point - 10.3 (+2) miles, 3280 ft gain

The Goat Rocks are the remains of an ancient stratovolcano that was once larger than Mount Rainier. This hike provides a unique opportunity to explore what happens to a volcano after it becomes extinct and is eroded over time. The jagged ridges and exposed lava flows here reveal the internal structure of a once-massive volcano, offering a rare view of volcanic deposits, glacial erosion, and ongoing tectonic forces that continue to shape the Cascades.

Additional information on other geology themed hikes can be viewed here: CHS 2025 Hiking through Deep Time - https://tinyurl.com/mr2su9jb

TBD