The Source

Mount Hood stands at 11,239 feet (3,425 meters). It is the highest point and mountain peak in the state of Oregon and the second most climbed mountain in the world (second only to Japan’s holy Mt. Fujiyama). This so-called mountain is actually a dormant stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc.

Twelve glaciers and named snowfields cover approximately eighty percent of the cone of Mount Hood above the 6800 feet level and contain vast amounts of ice. The twelve glaciers and named snowfields on Mount Hood include Palmer, Coalman, White River, Newton Clark, Elliot, Langille, Coe, Ladd, Glisan, Sandy, Reid and Zigzag. These glaciers are responsible for the feeding of several important rivers in the Pacific Northwest. For example, the White River Glacier feeds the White River. Our water source begins within the White River Glacier.

Only fully discovered and documented in 2011, Mount Hood’s Sandy Glacier is home to the largest and most extensive glacier cave system in the contiguous United States. Welcome to the wonder that is Mount Hood!