Q 01/05

Lassen Peak is the southernmost active volcano of which mountains?

A) Sierra Nevada

B) Coast Ranges

C) Cascades

D) Klamaths

Answer · why

C) Cascades

The park sits in northeastern California near Redding and Susanville, in the Shasta Cascade section of the range.

Q 02/05

Lassen Peak holds what world record among volcanoes?

A) Tallest cinder cone

B) Largest plug dome volcano

C) Widest caldera

D) Oldest active volcano

Answer · why

B) Largest plug dome volcano

It is a lava dome that pushed up through the flank of a vanished stratovolcano, probably reaching its full height in just a few years.

Q 03/05

The park is one of the few places on Earth where all four types of volcano can be found; which are they?

A) Plug dome, shield, cinder cone and stratovolcano

B) Caldera, maar, tuff ring and fissure

C) Shield, seamount, hotspot and rift

D) Composite, lava tube, geyser and fumarole

Answer · why

A) Plug dome, shield, cinder cone and stratovolcano

Mount Harkness, Red Mountain, Prospect Peak and Raker Peak are the shield volcanoes, each topped by its own cinder cone.

Q 04/05

How tall is Lassen Peak?

A) 8,900 feet

B) 9,600 feet

C) 10,100 feet

D) 10,457 feet

Answer · why

D) 10,457 feet

It has 14 permanent snowfields but no glaciers, and the road that skirts it is the highest in the whole range.

Q 05/05

What subduction process supplies the heat for Lassen's volcanism?

A) The Pacific plate sliding past on the San Andreas

B) A mantle hotspot like Hawaii's

C) The Gorda plate diving under North America

D) The Juan de Fuca ridge spreading

Answer · why

C) The Gorda plate diving under North America

The same subduction feeds the whole Cascade arc; nine seismometers relay data to the USGS in Menlo Park.