EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Thielsen Wilderness

Mount Thielsen
Oregon, USA

Explanation:  It is mid-winter in the northern hemisphere, and the snow-draped spires of silver fir frame a frosty image of an old extinct shield volcano of the Cascade Mountains of western North America.  This is Mount Thielsen, as seen to the north from the high country of Crater Lake, both being part of the volcanic range that stretches from northern California to Canada.  

Ringing this striking peak is Mount Thielsen Wilderness that spans nearly 55,000 acres (22,250 ha) across the border of two national forests.  Designated an official Wilderness in 1984, the area contains alpine forest ecosystems with black bear, mule deer, elk, cougar, and other wildlife.  

Mount Thielsen in summer.

In Mount Thielsen Wilderness, timberline runs at about 7,200 ft (2,200 m) elevation where whitebark pine and mountain hemlock give way to bare rock. 

Piercing the sky at 9,187 feet (2,800 m), the mountain's sheer cliffs have been sculpted by now-vanished alpine glaciers.  

On the upper reaches of Mount Thielsen are found the handiwork of lightening strikes that fuse rock and soil into mineral formations called fulgerites.