California - Lassen Volcanic National Park

This national park, situated in the extreme south of the mountains with their waterfalls, and 165sq.mi/427sq.m in area, was founded in 1916 in order to protect Lassen Peak (10,460ft/3,187m), one of the few volcanoes in the USA which have become active in recent years (others being Mount St Helens in Washington State, and some in Alaska and Hawaii). As the southernmost link in a chain of mighty volcanoes, including Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, the former Mount Mazama (Crater Lake) and Mount Shasta, it forms the impressive remains of the once higher, but now collapsed Mount Tehama, the cauldron of which has been filled by subsequent eruptions. Lassen Peak is named after its discoverer, the Danish pioneer and district governor Peter Lassen. History

Mount Lassen became active in May 1914, and continued to erupt sporadically until 1921. The biggest eruption occurred in 1915, when a mighty mushroom-shaped cloud rose to a height of 7mi/11km. Lava spread to the southwest and northeast. On the southwest side of the mountain it flowed to a width of 1,000ft/300m, cooled off and hardened. To the northeast, the lava flowed in great rivers and caused a lot of snow to melt. The flow, together with the remains of earlier eruptions, became an avalanche of mud, which rushed faster and faster down the valley. Fertile fields were buried under a blanket of mud up to 20ft/6m deep. Three days later there was a fresh explosion, which blew a new crater in the mountain. The lava poured in the direction of the avalanche of mud as it surged downhill. On its way it uprooted and crushed dozens of trees.

Geothermal areas

The most extensive and interesting geothermal area within the National Park is, without doubt, Bumpass Hell, below Lake Helen and reached by a footpath 1mi/1.6km in length. By means of easily negotiable wooden planks along a length of 0.5mi/1km, you can observe from close quarters the land strewn with hot springs, volcanic gas-clouds (fumaroles) and bubbling whitish-gray mud-pots, over which an extremely intensive smell of sulfur pervades, and you can also feel it, for the high temperatures of some 100øC. heat up the whole area of Bumpass Hell. It got its name from its discoverer Kendall V. Bumpass, who walked into a thermal spring by mistake, and suffered such serious burns that he had to pay for his error with the loss of a leg.

Walks

You can obtain information about the numerous tracks inside the park from the literature available in the Visitor Center. A favorite walk leads up to the peak of Mount Lassen, an easy route, but one completely lacking in shade, off the CA 89 near Lake Helen, with a climb of some 8500 to 10,500ft/2600 to 3187m. It will take about four hours to climb up and down. From the top of the mountain on a clear day you can see the 14,168-ft/4317m-high Mount Shasta to the northwest.

Information

The entrance to the park, with a Visitor Center, is on the west side, not far from the junction of roads 44 and 89, and is about 44mi/70km from Redding. At the Visitor Center you can obtain plenty of literature and information about the places to visit.

The park is open only from the middle of June to the middle of October. The south entrance, which has no Visitor Center, remains open the rest of the year for access to the park's winter sports area only.