“Unlike many other mountains, Shasta stands by itself, awesome in its isolation. Because of its location near the Pacific Ocean, frequent storms and strange clouds create eerie effects around its summit, making it seem charged with supernatural power. Somewhere far beneath its sealed crater, the clash of tectonic plates melts rock and makes it roil in preparation for some future eruption.”
–Edwin Bernbaum. Sacred Mountains of the World. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1990. Quote on page 148.