Sun Notch Overlook
Sun Notch is the U-shaped valley on the right. Photo credit - Ed Klimasauskas
Sun Notch viewpoint is an easy and flat stroll - only half a mile round trip. It offers the closest vantage point of Phantom Ship on the whole rim.
Phantom ship, according to the USGS (2003), is the oldest lava inside the lake rim, dating back approximately 400,000 years. It is the remnant of an ancient volcanic plug, which remains extremely resistant to erosion. It rises 167 feet above the water, and consists of andesite and dacite lavas, which are consistent with those of Mt Scott, and of the same age. According to Warfield et al (1996), it is part of an old cone that was buried by Mt. Mazama.
Sun notch is a U-shaped valley. While Mt. Mazama was growing, it was carved out by glaciers. One of these, the one that created Sun Notch, stretched many miles downslope. The U-shaped valley remains, as it was "cut off in cross section by Mount Mazama's collapse" (Warfield et al, 1996).
Click HERE to see the map!
Views from the overlook:
Photo Credit: John G. Wilbanks
Photo Credit: North Seattle Community College