(contrary to local legend, the mountain is not an "extinct volcano," but rather the uplifted debris and roots of a number of very old volcanic vents) Consisting of late Eocene to Oligocene epoch rock, it lies within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

The area lacks trees, and comprises steep cliffs, talus slopes, and meadows filled with wildflowers.

[6] The area lacks trees and comprises steep cliffs, talus slopes, and meadows filled with wildflowers.

[4] Precipitation reaches a peak during the winter season, usually deposited as snow that produces drifts, especially in deep canyons in the area.

[8] Wildflowers grow at unusually low elevations at Silver Star Mountain, as a result of fires, wind, and rocky subsoil.

[3] Trails around the mountain, in addition to offering views of wildflower-cover slopes, pass through thickets of huckleberry,[10] as well as forests with noble fir.

[11] Andesites located higher on the Silver Star Mountain edifice have undergone less erosion than deposits at lower elevations.

[13] They have a gray to green-gray color and are porphyritic, containing smaller amounts of breccia and tuff, as well as phenocrysts with plagioclase, augite, and magnetite.

These rock formations were intruded on the mountain's eastern side by the Silver Star intrusion, a deep stock of granodiorite and quartz diorite that also formed small deposits of copper in the area.

Calc-alkaline volcaniclastic sediments, referred to as the Skamania Volcanics, lie nearby and are overlapped by the Troutdale Formation.

During the Miocene epoch, these deposits formed hills to the north of the major Columbia River valley, with sufficient height to prevent flooding.

[19] The intrusion of the Silver Star stock produced small deposits of gold, zinc, copper, zeolites, quartz and calcite in the surrounding country rock.

Per the Skamania County Soil Survey, small abandoned gold mines can be found in creek bottoms throughout the area.

Spread by a strong, eastward blowing wind, it burned forest for 30 miles (48 km), reaching the town of Yacolt and killing 38 people.

[7] The fire encompassed close to 239,000 acres (970 km2) of land across southwest Washington state, including parts of Clark, Cowlitz, and Skamania counties.

[27] This has been described by local hikers as one of the best hikes in Washington state,[29][30] only gaining about 1,200 feet (370 m) in elevation between the Silver Star and Ed's Trails.

[8] The trail area is administered by the United States Forest Service, and the Mount Adams Ranger District serves as its information center.