Smith Rock State Park years ago, a large caldera was formed when overlying rock collapsed into an underground lava chamber. This created a huge amount of rock and ash debris that filled the caldera. That material solidified into rock, becoming Smith Rock tuff. Rhyolite flows intruded along faults in the Smith Rock Tuff. A half million years ago, basalt lava flows from nearby volcanoes covered the older tuff. More recently, the Crooked River cut its way through the layers of rock to create today's geographic features. Smith Rock itself is a -high ridge (above sea level) with a sheer cliff-face overlooking a bend in
Ice-marginal lava flow its subglacial beginnings. Currently the volcano is surrounded on all sides, except the south, by glaciers. What does Hoodoo mountain have to do with ice-marginal lava flows? Well, the entirety of the mountain is also surrounded by enormous lava cliffs, ranging from 50m-200m in height, as seen in Figure 3. The clearest example of these lava cliffs is seen on the southwestern side of the mountain whereas the northern formation of these cliffs has been overridden by recent lava flows and glacial erosion. Scientists are able to diagnose these lava cliff formations as a result of ice-marginal lava flows because