The Cascade Range or Cascades are a mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to northern California. There are 18 major mountains along the Cascades: with the total 4375 names of the mountains. The highest peak in the range is Mount Rainier in Washington at 14,411 feet (4,392 m) above sea level.
It was a great pleasure for me to see from above the ice caps near Vancouver area at the southern part of British Columbia, along with the fertile volcanic soil and running fresh water this Summer. It is called the Cascadian bioregion. A bioregion is defined in terms of the unique overall pattern of natural characteristics to support living creatures that are found in a specific place.
What does it mean? The ice caps will continue to supply one of the clearest and cleanest drinking waters around the globe. The volcanic soil will continue to produce the most fertile soil that supports all plants and animals to grow and reproduce. The mountains will continue to create breezy and cooler air naturally.
Can you imagine, near the Cascadian bioregion, in the ocean, there is a tectonic plate called the Pacific plate that can wipe off anything and everything in the water and on the land? The Pacific plate is the largest Oceanic tectonic plate under the Pacific Ocean with the size of 103,300,000 square kilometers.
Along with the Pacific plates in the ocean, the Cascades volcanoes are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the ring of volcanoes and associated mountains around the Pacific Ocean. The Cascade Volcanoes have erupted several times in recorded history. Two most recent were Lessen Peak in 1914 to 1921 and a major eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. It is also the site of Canada’s most recent major eruption about 2,350 years ago at the Mount Meager massif.
As the climate of the Pacific Northwest regions is awesome, the human population is increasing. I hope human disturbance together with global warming are under control; not to trigger the disasters especially during the end of this pandemic. Let us protect and keep them well the soil fertility and productivity, clear and clean water, and air.
The first photo by Young Susanti was taken beside the author above British Columbia, Canada this week. The second map by NASA World Wind.
-Bintoro Gunadi
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