Mammoth Mountain
Mammoth Mountain from Hwy395
Elevation	11,059 feet (3,371 metres)
Location	California, USA
Range	Sierra Nevada
Coordinates	37°37′50.26″N, 119°1′57.45″W
Topo map	USGS Mammoth Mountain
Type	Stratovolcano
Age of rock	50,000-200,000 years
Last eruption	~1400 AD
Easiest route	gondola

Mammoth Mountain is a volcano that lies to the west of the town of Mammoth Lakes, California in the Inyo National Forest. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1632x1224, 814 KB)Mammoth Mountain as seen from US Highway 395. ... United States Highway 395 is a scenic highway that starts in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia, runs along the east side of the Sierra Nevada in the Owens Valley, winds through Carson City, Reno, back into California, crosses through the Modoc Plateau, and into eastern Oregon, into... A topographical summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... The Himalaya as seen from the International Space Station A mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands or separated from other mountain ranges by passes or rivers. ... The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is almost entirely in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of California. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Example of a topographic map with contour lines Part of the same map in a perspective shaded relief view illustrates how the contour lines of the original follow the terrain Topographic maps are a variety of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief, usually using contour... The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. ... Mountains can be characterized in several ways. ... Stratovolcano Mount St. ... // For other uses, see time scale. ... For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... Events Henry IV quells baron rebellion and executes The Earls of Kent, Huntingdon and Salisbury for their attempt to have Richard II of England restored as King Jean Froissart writes the Chronicles Medici family becomes powerful in Florence, Italy Births December 25 - John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of... Southern and northern Mount Everest climbing routes as seen from the International Space Station. ... For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... Location within Mono County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Mono County Mayor Kirk Stapp Area    - City 65. ... Inyo National Forest is a federally protected forest. ...

Mammoth Mountain is home to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area which is notable in that it gets an unusually large amount of snow compared to other Sierra peaks, due to Mammoth Mountain lying in a low gap in the Sierra crest. In the summer months the ski gondolas are used by mountain bikers and tourists who wish to get a spectacular summit view of Long Valley Caldera directly to the east and Sierra peaks to the west, south and north. The Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is a large ski resort located in eastern California on the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the Inyo National Forest. ... The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is almost entirely in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of California. ... A Venetian gondola A gondola is a traditional Venetian rowing boat. ... Mountain biker riding in the Arizona desert. ... Long Valley Caldera is a depression in eastern California that is adjacent to Mammoth Mountain. ...

Geological origins

The mountain was formed from a long series of eruptions that started about 110,000 years ago and lasted to perhaps 50,000 years ago, although the volcano is still active with minor eruptions; the largest of which was a minor phreatic (steam) eruption 600 years ago. Mammoth Mountain is composed primarily of dacite and rhyolite; some of which have been altered by hydrothermal activity from fumaroles (steam vents). Mammoth lies on the South end of the Mono-Inyo chain of volcanic craters, some of which erupted as recently as 250 years ago. The term phreatic is used in geology to refer to matters relating to underground water below the water table (the word originates from the Greek phrear, phreat- meaning well or spring). The phreatic zone is the layer(s) of soil or rock below the water table in which voids are... Gray, red, black, altered white/tan, flow-banded pumice dacite Dacite is a high-silica igneous, volcanic rock. ... Rhyolite This page is about a volcanic rock. ... Hydrothermal circulation in the oceans is the passage of the water through mid-ocean Ridge (MOR) systems. ... Sulfur deposits near a fumarole A fumarole (Latin fumus, smoke) is an opening in Earths (or any other astronomical bodys) crust, often in the neighborhood of volcanoes, which emit steam and gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, and hydrogen sulfide. ... One of the Mono craters: an excellent example of a rhyolite dome. ... Craters on Mount Cameroon Perhaps the most conspicuous part of a volcano is the crater, a basin of a roughly circular form within which occurs a vent (or vents) from which magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. ...

Mammoth Mountain is on the southwestern edge of Long Valley Caldera, a large area that subsided after an enormous eruption 760,000 years ago. In fact the same magma chamber that was the source of the heat that eventually caused this great eruption also feeds Mammoth Mountain through fissures at the edge of the caldera. A magma chamber is a chamber typically between 1 km and 10 km beneath the surface of the Earth formed as rising magma forms a reservoir if it is unable to rise any further. ...

Mammoth Mountain from the north (Minaret Summit)

Download high resolution version (1200x646, 91 KB)Image taken in September 2003 by Daniel Mayer. ... Download high resolution version (1200x646, 91 KB)Image taken in September 2003 by Daniel Mayer. ...

CO2 Discharge

Mammoth is outgassing large amounts of carbon dioxide out of its South flank, near Horseshoe Lake. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the ground reaches over 50%. Measurements of the total discharge of carbon dioxide gas at the Horseshoe Lake tree kill area range from 50-150 tons per day. This high concentration causes trees to die in six regions that total about 170 acres (0.688 km²) in size (see photo, below). Camping has been prohibited in the tree kill area since 1995, to prevent asphyxiation of campers due to accumulation of carbon dioxide in tents and restrooms. Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... Asphyxia is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body. ...

The tree kills originally were attributed to a severe drought that affected California in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Another idea was that the kills were the result of a pathogen or other biological infestation. However neither idea explained why all trees in the affected areas were killed regardless of age or health. Then in March 1990, a United States Forest Service ranger became ill with suffocation symptoms after being in a snow-covered cabin near Horseshoe Lake. Doctors later determined the cause: carbon dioxide poisoning. A pathogen or infectious agent is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. ... The USDA Forest Service, a United States government agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, is under the leadership of the United States Secretary of Agriculture. ... Suffocation can mean two things: Suffocation, or Asphyxia, is a medical condition where the body is depraved of oxygen. ... Hypercapnia is a condition where there is too much carbon dioxide (CO2) in the body. ...

Carbon dioxide has killed a large area of trees

Measurements around the lake found that restrooms and tents had a greater than 1% CO₂ concentration (toxic), and a deadly 25% concentration of CO₂ in a small cabin. CO₂ concentrations of less than 1% are typical and healthy in most soils, however soil concentrations of CO₂ in the tree kill areas ranged from 20% to 90%. This overabundance of CO₂ was found to be the cause of the tree kills because tree roots need to absorb O₂ directly and the high CO₂ level reduced available O₂. Researchers also determined that Mammoth releases about 1,300 tons of CO₂ every day. As of 2003 the concentration of carbon dioxide in soil gas at Mammoth Mountain is being monitored on a continuous, year-round basis at four sites - three at Horseshoe Lake and one near the base of Chair 19 at the ski area. Source of image My own photograph, taken June 23, 2000. ... Source of image My own photograph, taken June 23, 2000. ... A tent is a shelter, consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles and/or ropes. ... For the American hard rock band, see Soil (band). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January events January 1 Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ...

Mammoth Mountain from the east

The most likely sources of the CO₂ are degassing of intruded magma and gas release from limestone-rich metasedimentary rocks that are heated by magmatic intrusions. The remarkable uniformity in chemical and isotopic composition of the CO₂ and accompanying gases at different locations around Mammoth Mountain indicates that there may actually be a large reservoir of gas deep below the mountain from which gas escapes along faults to the surface. United States Geological Survey photo of Mammoth Mountain Source URL: http://lvo. ... United States Geological Survey photo of Mammoth Mountain Source URL: http://lvo. ... Magma is molten rock located beneath the surface of the Earth (or any other rocky planet), and which often collects in a magma chamber. ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ... Isotopes are any of the several different forms of an element each having different atomic mass (mass number). ... Geologic faults, fault lines or simply faults are planar rock fractures, which show evidence of relative movement. ...

On April 6, 2006, three ski patrollers at the ski area perished due to a combination of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) poisoning. Both gases are present on a known dangerous fumarole on the mountain and were more concentrated on that day because the fumarole had been covered by snow for days. Four patrollers, including (John McAndrews and James Juarez) were raising the fence around the fumarole, which had become buried due to heavy snowfall. The fumarole had melted a cavern below the snowbridge, which collapsed under James and John, who fell 21 feet, went in to convulsions and died in a couple minutes. Other ski patrollers tried to rescue the two, however another one (Walt Rosenthal) perished, and seven others got injured. Unfortunately, the only type of oxygen mask available on the mountain was of the kind that does not completely seal outer gases from coming in. April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

The view from Dry Creek.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Mammoth Mountain

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 1475 KB) Sean Lynch I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 1475 KB) Sean Lynch I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

References

• Alt, David; Donald Hyndman (2000). Roadside Geology of Northern and Central California. Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87842-409-1. 
• Harris, Stephen L. (2005). Fire Mountains of the West, 3rd edition, Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87842-511-X. 
• Mammoth ski patrol tragedy. Mammoth Local. Retrieved on 2006-04-09.
• USGS Volcano Hazards Program Long Valley Observatory: Carbon Dioxide and Helium Discharge from Mammoth Mountain (public domain text)
• Helium Discharge at Mammoth Mountain Fumarole (public domain text)

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ...

External links

• Mammoth Mountain Ski Area trail map
• USGS Volcano Hazards Program, Long Valley Observatory
• QTVR of tree kill area
• A website dedicated to James Juarez
• Maps and aerial photos
  • WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
  • Surrounding area map from Google Maps
  • Location in the United States from the Census Bureau