Mount Hood

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Portland, Oregon, with Mount Hood beyond

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Mount Hood

mountain, Oregon, United States

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Mount Hood, highest peak (11,239 feet [3,425 metres]) in Oregon, U.S., and the fourth highest peak in the Cascade Range, 45 miles (70 km) east-southeast of Portland. It is a dormant volcano that last erupted about 1865, with minor steam and ash (tephra) emissions in 1903; debris flows, glacial flooding, and earthquakes regularly occur there. First sighted in 1792 by the English navigator William Broughton, and named for the British admiral Lord Hood, the snowcapped peak was used as a landmark by early settlers. Twelve glaciers and snowfields cover approximately 80 percent of Mount Hood’s cone above the 6,890-foot (2,100-metre) level.

Mount Hood is the focal point of Mount Hood National Forest, a popular tourist and recreation area that extends along the Cascade Range from the Columbia River.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by John M. Cunningham.