Mount Hood National Forest Site Quarter
The fifth and final 2010 coin to be issued in the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program is the Mount Hood National Forest Site Quarter. More than 1 million acres of pristine mountains, streams and lakes make up Mount Hood National Forest. This picturesque area is located only 20 miles east of Portland, Oregon.
Mount Hood National Forest Site Quarter, Design Candidate OR-01 - Click to Enlarge |
Mount Hood National Forest Site Quarter, Design Candidate OR-02 - Click to Enlarge |
Mount Hood National Forest Site Quarter, Design Candidate OR-03 - Click to Enlarge |
Mount Hood National Forest Site Quarter, Design Candidate OR-04 - Click to Enlarge |
Several quarter design proposals were created, as shown above. A design featuring a rippling lake surrounded by pine trees in front of the beautiful Mount Hood, as depicted on quarter design candidate OR-3, was recommended by both the United States Commission of Fine Arts (CAF) and the Citizen’s Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC). It is now up to the Secretary of the Treasury to decide if that design or another will be the one featured on the Mount Hood Quarter.
The Mt. Hood National Forest Site Quarter is expected to be released later in 2010. It is the last of 5 quarters to be issued in the year and follows the Hot Springs National Park Quarter, the Yellowstone National Park Quarter, the Yosemite National Park Quarter and the Grand Canyon National Park Quarter.
The Oregon coin released in 2005 as part of the US Mint’s 50 State Quarters Program featured an image of Crater Lake which is located in southern Oregon. Similar in landscape to what you may find in Mount Hood National Forest, the lake was created when Mount Mazama collapsed thousands of years ago after a violent eruption. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at over 1,900 feet.
Mt. Hood National Forest Information
Peak at Mt. Hood National Forest in Oregon (NPS Photo) - Click to Enlarge
Mount Hood received its name in 1792 when Lt. William Broughton named the peak after Lord Samuel Hood, a respected admiral of the British Royal Navy. For the next 100 years, the region remained in relative obscurity.
This changed when land in the area was first put under the protection of the federal government in 1892 as the Bull Run Forest Reserve. In 1908, Bull Run was merged with Cascade National Forest and the two became the Oregon National Forest. Finally, in 1924, the whole area was renamed Mount Hood National Forest.
Over 25% of the forest lands are designated wilderness, meaning a concerted effort is maintained to restrain human influences on the area. This does not prevent almost 4 million annual visitors from enjoying Mount Hood as a whole, however.
Most any outdoor activity you can think of is undertaken within the boundaries of Mount Hood. Some of these include boating, rafting, hunting, hiking, skiing and mountain biking. Camping is also enjoyed by thousands, both in and out of the multiple campgrounds.
Interestingly enough, local Oregon citizens find winter a perfect time to visit Mount Hood as they continue the annual tradition of finding their Christmas tree within the boundaries of the National Forest.