Belknap Crater is a broad shield volcano in Oregon’s central Cascades, north of McKenzie Pass in the Mount Washington Wilderness. One of the larger mafic volcanoes in the Sisters Reach and the youngest shield volcano in the Cascade arc, it formed on Mount Washington’s lower slopes through repeated basaltic and basaltic andesite eruptions. Geological evidence shows four Holocene eruptive periods, with the shield and its vents forming in less than 1,500 years and the last activity ending about 1,500 years ago. Its dark lava fields, craters, tree molds, and sparse vegetation make it a striking example of recent High Cascade volcanism, alongside a landscape long used for travel and seasonal gathering.