Mount Drum

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Mount Drum
Mount Drum from the northwest (D. Richter, USGS)
Elevation	12,010 ft (3,661 m)
Location	Alaska, United States
Range	Wrangell Mountains
Prominence	6,760 ft (2,061 m)^[1]
Coordinates	62°06′58″N, 144°38′16″W
Topo map	USGS Gulkana A-2
First ascent	1954 by Heinrich Harrer, Keith Hart, George Schaller

Mount Drum is a stratovolcano in the Wrangell Mountains of east-central Alaska in the United States. It is located at the extreme western end of the Wrangells, 18 mi (29 km) west-southwest of Mount Sanford and the same distance west-northwest of Mount Wrangell. It lies just inside the western boundary of Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, and is 25 mi (40 km) east of the Copper River.

1 Geography
2 Geology
3 Climbing
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Standing near the low valley of the Copper River, Mount Drum is notable for its large local relief. For example, its south face rises 6,000 ft (1,830 m) over the head of the Nadina Glacier in only 1.6 mi (2.6 km). Its west slopes rise 9,000 ft (2,745 m) over the tundra in only 10 mi (16 km), and 11,000 ft (3,355 m) over the Copper River in only 25 mi (40 km).^[2] These numbers are comparable to better-known stratovolcanoes like Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta. However Mount Drum is somewhat overshadowed by its much higher neighbor Mount Sanford.

[edit] Geology

Mount Drum was active between 650,000 and 240,000 years ago. Late in that period, various separate dacitic domes were formed in a rough circle around the current summit, of radius about 4 mi (6 km); one such dome is the current Snider Peak (8,250 ft/2,515 m) to the south of the main peak. After the constructive phase,

...paroxysmal explosive activity, probably from the central vent area, destroyed the south half of the stratovolcano and deposited ~7 cubic km of hot and cold avalanche debris over an area >200 square km.^[3]

The effects of this explosive phase can still be seen in the particularly steep south face of Mount Drum above the Nadina Glacier.

Mount Drum is flanked on the west by a few small cones (less than 400 ft/120m high), including Shrub and Klawasi. In historic times, the only volcanic activity in the vicinity of Drum has been mud and gas emitted from Shrub.^[4]

[edit] Climbing

Mount Drum was first climbed on June 4, 1954 by noted Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer, with Keith Hart and George Schaller, via the North Ridge. Heinz Allemann and Niklaus Lötscher made the second ascent on August 26, 1967, via the Southwest Ridge. The latter is the current standard route, and is rated Alaska Grade 2+.^[5]

[edit] References

^ Mount Drum on peakbagger.com
^ Mount Drum on Topozone
^ Wood, C. A., and Kienle, Juergen, (eds.), 1990, Volcanoes of North America: United States and Canada: New York, Cambridge University Press, 354 p.; quoted on the Alaska Volcano Observatory Mount Drum page.
^ Mount Drum activity on the Alaska Volcano Observatory
^ Michael Wood and Colby Coombs, Alaska: A Climbing Guide, The Mountaineers, 2001, ISBN 0-89886-724-X.