Italian settlers arrived in the early 1900s
to work in the mills and as stonemasons and established a strong Catholic
presence in the area. Many other faiths have been attracted to Mount Shasta
over the years—more than any other Cascade volcano. Mount Shasta City and Dunsmuir,
California, small towns near Shasta's western base, are focal points for many
of these, which range from a Buddhist monastery (Shasta Abbey, founded by Houn
Jiyu-Kennett in 1971) to modern-day Native American rituals. A group of Native
Americans from the McCloud River area practice rituals on the mountain
Get to know more about Mount Shasta and the Cascades
