EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Above the Diamond

Diamond Peak, Cascade Mountains
Oregon USA

Explanation:  This week we have a spectacular, clear view of the central Oregon Cascade Mountains and environs to the east.  

Below us is a great example of a shield volcano:  Diamond Peak, jutting 8,743 feet (2,665 m) into the sky.  The peak can be climbed as a "scramble" over the miles of loose volcanic rock underfoot.

Numerous lakes dot this landscape, some frozen such as Summit Lake in the bottom right of this scene (we are looking east, so Summit Lake is just south of Diamond Peak), with others such as Waldo, Odell, and Crescent Lakes still blue and unfrozen.  

In the distance, the high-desert steppe country of eastern Oregon looks white and cold on this sunny day in late December.  

Our flight soon takes us further north, but for the moment we can enjoy this wonderful world, momentarily suspended here above the Diamond.