Corkscrew Mtn, Toroda Creek Graben, Washington

Corkscrew Mountain is an interesting geological formation composed of Tertiary basalt flows in northern Washington.  It is located 2.5 miles west of Toroda and north of Toroda Creek.  Volcanic rocks form many interesting landscapes.

Corkscrew Mountain shown on the Toroda USGS 7.5' topo.
 

The photos below show several basalt flows exhibiting columnar jointing along with the flow tops and bottoms.  The trough shape of the flows may indicate that they flowed down a gentle valley.  The image on the right is the authors concept of the original orientation of  the basalt flows.



 





Oblique view of Corkscrew Mountain viewed on Google Earth.

It is out of the way for most people.  But if you are in the area, it is worth a drive by, a look and a photo. 

Thanks to Tom Johnson, Kinross geologist, for pointing it out to me several years ago.