Aerial view of North and Middle Sister Photo by Ken McGee
Description of the Three Sisters
Aerial view of North and Middle
Sister
Photo by Ken McGee
The Three
Sisters areas is located in the Central Oregon High Cascades. This is part
of the Cascade Range which extends from northern California to northern
Washington (USGS, 2002a). The area has a temperate maritime climate and the mountains
act as major barriers, intercepting eastward-flowing moisture (USGS, 2002d). As a
result, there are warm, dry summers and higher precipitation in the
winter. Areas of higher elevation, like the Three Sisters, receive most of
their precipitation as snowfall.
The Three Sisters are comprised of North Sister, Middle
Sister, and South Sister. Formerly, they were called "Faith",
"Hope", and "Charity" (Fukuchi, 1999).
North Sister is
3,074 meters in height and is a stratovolcano atop a shield volcano (USGS,
2002d). North
Sister is deeply dissected and has probably been inactive for at least 100,000
years (Jacobs, 1996). This mountain consists mostly of crumbling rock, so reaching the
summit is difficult.
Middle Sister is 3,062 meters in height and is a
stratovolcano. Middle Sister is younger than North Sister and was active
in the late Pleistocene but not in postglacial time (USGS, 2002d). This mountain is less
eroded than North Sister, but more so than South sister. The erosion
contributes to its more pointed appearance.
South Sister is 3,157 meters in height and is a
stratovolcano. South Sister is older than 25,000 years. However,
eruptions of rhyolite from flank vents have occurred as recently as 2,000 years
ago (USGS, 2002d). South Sister is the least eroded and maintains its conical
shape. It has a well-preserved summit crater that is usually filled
with snow. During the summer, the snow melts and forms the highest lake in
Oregon (Fukuchi, 1999).
Aerial view of Three Sisters from
the southeast Photo by William E. Scott, USGS
The Three Sisters area has the most extensive glaciation in
the Central Oregon High Cascades and is the most developed system of glaciers
thus far in North and South America. The area has 17 named glaciers that
cover approximately 7.5 kilometers (USGS, 2002d). The largest glacier, the Collier, is
located between the North and Middle Sisters on their western slope. The presence
of the glaciers has led to glacial erosion which has worked to reveal the inner
structure of these mountains (USGS, 2002b).
