Saddle Mountain is the tallest mountain in Clatsop County, Oregon

Clatsop County, Oregon

Clatsop County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coast of the Pacific Ocean prior to European settlement. As of 2010, the population was 37,039. The county seat is Astoria.-Economy:The principal...

. Part of the Oregon Coast Range

Oregon Coast Range

The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...

, Saddle Mountain is in Saddle Mountain State Natural Area

Saddle Mountain State Natural Area

Saddle Mountain State Natural Area is a state park in northwest Oregon. It is located in the Northern Oregon Coast Range in central Clatsop County, about by road from Seaside. A long hiking trail climbs to the top of Saddle Mountain, which is located in the park...

 in the northwest corner of Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. The peak is listed on Oregon’s Register of Natural Heritage Resources and is the highest point in Clatsop County.

Geology

Saddle Mountain was created around 15 million years ago when lava flows poured down the old Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 valley. When the lava encountered the water at the Astoria Sea, great steam explosions and thermal shocks occurred to create a large pile of basalt rocks

Columbia River Basalt Group

The Columbia River Basalt Group is a large igneous province that lies across parts of the Western United States. It is found in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and California...

. The mountain consists of this volcanic breccia

Breccia

Breccia is a rock composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock cemented together by a fine-grained matrix, that can be either similar to or different from the composition of the fragments....

, which is a rock made up of broken basalt fragments that are fused together in a fine-grained matrix.

History

In modern time, the mountain has been viewed and described by a variety of European and American explorers. Beginning in 1788, these explorers included British captain John Meares

John Meares

John Meares was a navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war.- Career :...

, Lewis and Clark in 1805, and the Wilkes Expedition in 1841. Meares named the peak Mont de la Selle in 1788.

Access

The hike to the taller of the two peaks is a 6 mile round trip challenging hike. Elevation gain is 1603 feet and leads to a 360 degree view to the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

, Cascade Mountain peaks such as Mount Hood

Mount Hood

Mount Hood, called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It was formed by a subduction zone and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States...

, and other peaks in the Coast Range. The lower peak (elevation 3200 feet) to the east and south does not have trail access. The trail is steep at times along rock outcroppings, but does offer views that include wildflowers in bloom in the springtime.

Saddle Mountain is located seven miles off U.S. Route 26 about 65 miles west of Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. The access road to the mountain and state park is paved. The area contains dense forests of spruce and hemlock, and some ancient lava

Lava

Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...

flows.