Mount Shasta



Mount Shasta is a volcano in northern California at the southern end of the Cascades, with its peak at 14,179 ft (4,322 m) above sea level. It last erupted in the late eighteenth century, and is considered to be potentially active. It is also the subject of many legends and nonsense, from old Native American myths to more recent scams. Nearby Mount Shasta City is home to many religious organisations and churches including a Buddhist monastery.

Native American lore
The area has been inhabited for thousands of years. Some Native Americans believed it to be the centre of the universe.

Klamath legend says that the mountain is home to Skell, Spirit of the Above-World, who occasionally wars with the Spirit of the Below-World by throwing hot rocks. This legend may be an ancient of a 7,000 year old eruption.

Refugees from Lemuria
Supposedly escapees from the sunken continent of Lemuria settled on the mountain, creating a subterranean city called Telos in tunnels under the mountain. The myth was popularised (and perhaps created) by Frederick Spencer Oliver, who claimed to use mediumistic communication with spirits from dead civilisations (most prominently "Phylos The Thibetan") to write about the history of Atlantis and Lemuria in A Dweller on Two Planets (written in 1895, and posthumously published by his mother in 1906). Robed Lemurians have been spotted shopping in nearby stores. Or maybe they're just Buddhist monks, or people from another of the area's many denominations.

I AM
Guy Ballard had a mystical encounter up the mountain with a stranger claiming to be the Count of St. Germain, and saying he was an "ascended master", someone who had lived many lives before escaping to a higher plane. This led to Ballard founding the "I AM" Activity or "I AM" Movement in the early 1930s. This spiritual movement was somewhat similar to theosophy, but with extreme nationalist overtones; they had a million followers at their peak in the late 1930s, before being investigated by the government for swindling their followers. The movement rapidly dwindled after that, although it remains an influence on much subsequent New Age thought.

Scientology
In Scientology, Mt. Shasta is one of the several volcanoes used by the galactic conqueror Xenu to exterminate the surplus populations of his worlds. The souls traumatized by this act of genocide became the "thetans" responsible for human trouble and sorrow:

'Simultaneously, the planted charges erupted. Atomic blasts ballooned from the craters of Loa, Vesuvius, Shasta, Washington, Fujiyama, Etna, and many, many others. Arching higher and higher, up and outwards, towering clouds mushroomed, shot through with flashes of flame, waste and fission. Great winds raced tumultuously across the face of Earth, spreading tales of destruction ... '

Hidden gold
There have been various stories of vast treasures being hidden under the mountain. According to a legend, J. C. Brown was a British prospector who discovered a lost underground city beneath Mt. Shasta in 1904. Brown had been hired by the Lord Cowdray Mining Company of England to prospect for gold, and discovered a cave which sloped downward for 11 miles. In the cave, he found an underground village filled with gold, shields, and mummies, some being up to 10 feet tall.

Thirty years later, he told his story to John C. Root, who proceeded to gather an exploration team in Stockton, California. About 80 people joined the team, but on the day the team was to set out, Brown did not show up. Brown was not heard from again.

UFOs
Unusual lens-shaped -or "lenticular" - clouds form around the top of the mountain, due to the area's geography and climate. These have been mistaken for UFOs by some people, and others claim they have been put there to hide real UFOs. It is also claimed that the Lemurians use UFOs.

Mysterious hole
Former video store employee Elijah Sullivan has been investigating what is claimed to be a "mysterious hole" in the side of Mount Shasta. There are many improbable explanations for this: it could be a gateway to Lemuria (no, it couldn't), or have been dug by someone seeking Native American artifacts, or most likely gold. It has been alleged that Mount Shasta is one of the supposed secret entrances to the hollow earth.

Hopi legends
Kooks think that Hopi Indians had legends about a vast network of caves and a great city under Mount Shasta where the reptilian race lives. In reality, Mount Shasta is about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from traditional Hopi lands and the Hopi would have had no traditional knowledge of places so distant. Many people living around Mount Shasta have told stories about very tall humanoids appearing occasionally in smaller towns.

Bigfoot sightings
The already mysterious Mount Shasta has been home to numerous Bigfoot sightings dating back to the very first years in which the legend started. One of the most memorable happened back in 1976, when a camper thought a ranger had walked past his camp but it was really the infamous creature. Another was back in 1962 when a woman claimed to see Bigfoot give birth in the Mount Shasta wilderness.

Earth chakras
Mount Shasta is apparently the first of the seven supposed "Chakras of the Earth" and has unusually high quartz content because its composition evolved from mantle-derived andesitic magma.