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Lassen Volcanic - California

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Descriptive:
The jagged peaks and mountains formed exclusively by lava flow mark the strange countryside in this beautiful Park. Located where the Sierra Nevada meet the Cascade mountain range, the Park features lava pinnacles and craters, along with steaming sulphur vents, most notably in Bumpass Hell. Numerous stunning lakes, mountainous and crystalline, dot the Park as well. Sometimes thousands of tortoiseshell butterflies fill the air.

Vegetation:
Lodgepole pine
Western white pine
Sugar pine
Aspen
Alder
Hemlock
Red fir
Snowbrush
Sierra chinquapin
Manzanita

Indian paintbrush
Mountain heath
Leopard lilies

Wildlife:
Black bear
Mule deer
Marmot
Marten
Fox

Key locations:
About three hundred years ago, a volcanic dome collapsed. A series of violent steam explosions caused three great landslides as the great cliffs toppled. The millions of tons of rock fell so quickly that a cushion of air became entrapped beneath the rock. The trapped air caused a buoyant effect under the massive weight, and the rock to speed across two miles of open land. The rock ended up at two locations not to be missed: Chaos Crags and Chaos Jumbles. The landslide also served to dam Manzanita Creek, creating Manzanita Lake.

Bumpass Hell is a walk through a land of rising steam coming from openings in the Earth to boiling hot springs. Its barren expanse is reminiscent of the thermal activity of Yellowstone. Fumaroles and mud pots bubble and hiss along this trail. Big Boiler and Steam Engine are two of the sulfurous fumaroles in this crater-shaped depression.

The Devastated Area is a breadth of scarred Earth resulting from the 1915 eruption. It is estimated that five million board feet of lumber were destroyed here in "The Great Hot Blast." At this point, new forest has slowly taken hold, and the ecosystem is rebuilding.

Although 2,000 feet uphill on a very steep grade, Lassen Peak Trail is well worth the effort. The summit of this behemoth is spectacular, at 10,000 feet in elevation, and reveals the power of the volcano amid august views.

Activities:
Cross-country skiing
Downhill skiing
Fishing
Boating

Geology:
Site of the most recent volcanic eruption on the contiguous United States, with the exception of Mt. St. Helens in 1980, Lassen's landscape has undergone the most recent dramatic change in its geology. Beginning in 1914, after 400 years of sleep, the region suffered almost 150 eruptions in a year's span. About a year later, Lassen Peak blew its top, pelting the land for miles with rocks and raining ash. Great trees were snapped out of the ground and large fields of uprooted trunks lay on the valley floor, their tops all pointing away from Lassen Peak. Immense mud flows were formed by glaciers melting from the seething lava, causing great boulders weighing many tons to be transported as much as five miles. Three days later, Lassen Peak shivered, and released what has come to be called, "The Great Hot Blast." With the force of a tornado, a wall of fire swept down the mountainside with devastating force. The destruction was absolute; the mountain had only minor rumblings after that for the next six years, but has been quiet since, until the present day.

Historical:
Four Native American Indian tribes are known to have roamed the lands of Lassen. They are the lesser-known Atsugewi, Maidu, Yahi and Yana tribes.

Trails:
Bumpass Hell
Cinder Cone Nature Trail
Kings Creek Meadows
Lassen Peak Trail
Old Emigrant Trail
Pacific Crest Trail

Campsites:
Butte Lake
Crags
Juniper Lake
Manzanita Lake
Southwest Information Station
Summit Lake
Warner Valley

Nearby Sites:
Lassen National Forest