DEVELOPING AN APP-BASED GUIDE INTO MT. YANA, AN ERODED STRATOVOLCANO IN THE SOUTHERN CASCADES

There are many opportunities for non-geologists to learn about active volcanoes, but there are few accessible sources that explain how an older volcano erodes and eventually becomes less recognizable as a volcanic edifice. For example, Mt. Yana is an approximately 3 Ma stratovolcano of the ancestral Cascades, situated approximately 40 km south of Lassen Volcanic National Park, a two-hour drive from Chico, California. It has eroded to an extent that it is difficult to recognize as a volcanic edifice, but the degree of erosion provides easy access to the eroded core of Mt. Yana, where internal structures of the volcano can be observed. To take advantage of this, we are developing an app to guide visitors with an interest in exploring the interior of a volcano on a geologic tour of Mt. Yana. The app will include a day hike with 12 stops that provide hikers with clear examples of volcanic feeder dikes, lava flows, columnar jointing, debris flows, and hyaloclastite deposits of glassy magma fragments quenched from water/ice interactions. At each stop, hikers will be able to see first-hand examples of these features, accompanied by informative explanations. The extent of snow/glacier coverage on Mt. Yana presents an opportunity for app users to consider climate conditions in Northern California during the Pliocene. Hyaloclastite and large debris flows require large water volumes, which is contradicted by the warmer climate 3 Ma (e.g. Haywood et al., 2016). In addition to nuances associated with Mt. Yana, the app will help users learn that volcanoes have a “lifespan,” in that younger, more familiar, and visually striking volcanoes, such as Mt. Shasta, eventually erode to look more like Mt. Yana.