Lassen Volcanic National Park

 Lassen Volcanic National Park was founded in 1916. It is named after Peter Lassen, one of the first white settlers in the northern Sacramento Valley who discovered a route through the mountains called Lassen Trail. The Maudi Native Americans called it Kohm Yah-mah-nee which means snow mountain.

The significance of this park is that Lassen Peak, one of the largest plug dome volcanoes in the world, had some major eruptions in 1915. Also, all four types of volcanoes can be found in the park.

The main road through the park is a two lane, winding road opened in 1931. It is 30 miles of a beautiful journey through pine forests and breathtaking views of volcano peaks.  We entered at the north entrance. Our first stop was the museum where we watched a very interesting and information movie about the park. We got some tips from a very nice ranger, and off we drove.

Our first stop was the Chaos Crags and Jumbles Overlook. A rock avalanche broke off from the Chaos Crags volcanos 350 years ago and roared down the sides for four miles.

There are a couple of campgrounds in the park. One of them for tents was along Summit Lake. Such a beautiful, peaceful location. 

Next up was the Hot Rock. On May 19, 1915 Lassen volcano erupted causing an avalanche of snow, lava and rock to come careening down its sides. This humungous rock was found five miles down. When it was discovered 40 hours after being ejected from the volcano's crater, it was still sizzling hot. 

At the Devastated Area there is a 1/2 mile loop trail explaining about the 1915 eruptions and the geology of the rocks. All the rocks in this park are from volcanoes. 

This sign shows pictures from 1910 and 1915 showing how much of the forest was destroyed from the eruptions. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge.

On May 22, 1915 the volcano erupted again with an even bigger explosion. Ash and gas blew 30,000 feet up into the air, and could be seen from 150 miles away. Today, many airplanes fly around 30,000 feet. That's just mindboggling. 

And, here is Lassen Peak in all it's glory. We were at about 8,500 feet elevation at this point. There was still snow on the ground in spots. We saw several people enjoying themselves playing in the snow.

There is a trail you can climb to the summit. It is about 5 miles round trip and about 2,000 feet in elevation gain. Not for us. There were lots of cars in the parking lot. I wonder how far they got?? At the bottom right of the picture you can see some people on the lower portion of the trail.

This volcano is called Brokeoff Mountain. It is an example of a composite volcano. There are four types of volcanoes, all of which are in this park. Lassen Peak is a plug dome. The other two types are shield and cinder cone. Those two are in the more remote areas of the park, so we didn't see them.

Near the south entrance of the park is the Sulphur Works. This is a hydrothermal area with hot springs and mud pots. These features are evidence of active volcanism and indicate the potential for future eruptions. The smell of rotten eggs caused by the Sulphur was really strong!! Too bad I don't have smellavision. You could have shared in the experience :)

This one was really bubbling. Shooting mud over a foot in the air.

We are staying at Redding RV Park in Redding, California. On our way here yesterday, we got our first glimpse of Mount Shasta which is over 14,000 feet tall. When we leave on Tuesday, we will be driving north, so I'm hoping to get even better views.

We also saw lots of orchards during our travels the last few days through Central California. The gentleman who checked us in at our campground told us they were mainly almonds, but also pistachios and olive groves. He told how as a kid he would stuff his pockets with almonds on the way to school. How awesome!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!