Tectonic–climatic interaction have sculpted their local and regional environments. Aside from admiring their majestic beauty, one might wonder how these geologic wonders work and what role they play in changing the landscape and atmosphere. Principally, volcanoes are geologic features that exude magmatic material from below Earth's surface onto the surface. Upon reaching the surface, the term "magma" disappears and "lava" becomes the common nomenclature. This lava cools and forms igneous rock. By examining igneous rocks, it is possible to derive a chain of events that led from the original melt of the magma to the crystallization of the lava at Earth's surface.
Hogg Rock Jefferson to Santiam Pass includes shield volcanoes, lava domes, and cinder cones. The high elevation of Matuyama-aged rocks east of Santiam Pass, coupled with exposure of Brunhes-aged rocks to the west, imply the presence of a northward-trending normal fault. Part of a mostly mafic chain of volcanoes between the Three Sisters and Mount Jefferson, Hogg Rock has magma with an intermediate composition. A tuya, Hogg Rock is also considered a small lava dome with the flat top typically observed for tuya volcanoes. Unlike most lava domes in the Cascades, which are made of dacite or rhyodacite, Hogg Rock is comprised