Shasta, California, USA
U.S. Geological Survey photo by Lyn Topinka, 1984 (fair use policy)
Shasta may be California's most beautiful mountain, and it may be California's most dangerous volcano. Shasta hasn't erupted since Europeans first visited the area, although the explorer La Perouse sighted an eruption from sea in 1786 that probably was this mountain.
Shasta has been the site of a volcano for more than half a million years, but the present structure, the largest in the Cascade Range, was built in the latter half of this period. The mountain that sat here before that blew up, and enormous landslides from it extend for great distances, even down into the Great Valley. This could happen again. For much more geologic information about Shasta, visit the USGS's Shasta menu.
Mystics around the world revere Shasta for its spiritual powers, and there's no denying its classic beauty. But its clean cone is a sign of a young, active volcano, and the glaciers that decorate its sides warn of destructive mudflows fed by melting ice the next time Shasta awakes.
The secondary cone on the right is Shastina. It and several other vents, some rather far from Shasta, are connected to the same body of magma and are considered active.
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