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Lassen Volcanic
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Lassen Volcanic
LOOKING WEST ACROSS A PORTION OF BUMPASS HELL
SOME TIME prior to these explosions Lassen Peak and its interesting neighbor, Cinder Cone, were included in separate national monuments. Following the latest eruptions, they were included in the Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Cinder Cone, with its fantastic lava beds and multicolored volcanic ejecta, is unusually beautiful. It is bare of vegetation and gives the impression of having been so recently formed that the heat of creation should still be present. Brokeoff Mountain is another striking peak.
The hot-water phenomena of the region is unusually interesting. Boiling Springs Lake is a striking spectacle—a seething, simmering caldron with a shore line of about two thousand feet. Encircling it is a primeval forest of conifers.
The Devils Kitchen, a half mile of canyon between volcanic rock walls, is traversed by a lovely stream, which contrasts strongly with the incipient geysers, sputtering hot spring, paint pots, and vaporing fumaroles which suggested its name. Bumpas Hell is another weird solfataric area.
Volcanic phenomena, however, are by no means the sole attraction of the park. There are splendid primeval forests, in which yellow and Jeffrey pine predominate. Its stand of western black hemlock was characterized by John Muir as the loveliest he ever found. Through the forest curtain the silvery sheen and shimmer of innumerable alpine lakes greets the eye, affording a picture of rare beauty.
LASSEN PEAK IN ERUPTION, JULY, 1914
Photograph by W.S. Valentine
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Last Modified: Mon, Oct 31, 2002 10:00:00 pm PDT
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