The American Southwest
Home | Parks | Trails | Plants | Canyons
Maps | Landscapes | Site Map | Whats New? |
More...
Follow americansouthwest.net on Facebook
×
General Pages
Home
Parks
Trails
Plants
Slot Canyons
Maps
Landscapes
Itineraries
Site Map
What's New?
More pages...

States
Arizona
California
Colorado
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Texas
Utah
Wyoming



ARIZONA
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
IDAHO
NEVADA
NEW MEXICO
OREGON
TEXAS
UTAH
WYOMING
CALIFORNIA
MAPS | PARKS | TRAILS | HOTELS

Lava Beds National Monument - Nearby Places


California > Lava Beds National Monument > Nearby Places
Road past Glass Mountain
Highlights:
Other volcanic sites near Lava Beds National Monument, on national forest land: Medicine Lake Glass Flow, Burnt Lava Flow, Glass Mountain and the Arnica Sink
Pinterest
Away from Lava Beds National Monument, other evidence of past vclcanism is scattered over much of north California and south Oregon - patches of lava, cinder cones and extinct volcanoes are found all along the Cascade range and the wooded lands to the east.

In the vicinity of the national monument are several interesting locations in the Shasta, Klamath and Modoc National Forests to the south and west, reached by gravel tracks that branch off the scenic drive, or by a rather longer journey north from CA 89. These roads are usually closed by snow until mid June so the visitor season is quite limited.


Lava Beds Table of Contents

  • Photographs
  • Medicine Lake
  • More lava; Burnt Lava Flow and Glass Mountain

Photographs


13 views of lava features.

Evening sun on trees and lava
Evening sun on lava, looking towards the Glass Mountain summit
Arnica Sink
Arnica Sink, a dry lake bed west of Glass Mountain


⇧

Medicine Lake


One popular site is Medicine Lake. This is a small area of water, formerly a crater, with several boat launches and rather pricey primitive campsites, and which lies close to the Medicine Lake Glass Flow, a high mass of sharp lava blocks. There are no trails but it is easy enough to scramble up the slope and walk across the uneven, rather alien landscape that has deep crevasses, boulder piles and very little vegetation. Free camping is available in the surrounding national forest land.

⇧

More Lava


The route to the lake, the Lava Beds-Medicine Lake Road, continues south for another 7 miles to the more remote Burnt Lava Flow Wilderness Area, a much larger lava deposit surrounded by a ring of cinder cones and containing several ice caves. Similar scenery is found at Glass Mountain, 2 miles east of Medicine Lake along another good quality track, where a hill of glassy lava rises several hundred feet above the surrounding pine woodland. Along the way, the road passes the Arnica Sink, a dry lake bed.

Edge of the lava flow
Bushes and trees at the edge of the lava flow
Glassy lava
Glassy lava blocks, grey and pale red


Back to Top
Arizona | California | Colorado | Idaho | Nevada | New Mexico | Oregon | Texas | Utah | Wyoming | Slot Canyons | Travelogue | SOUTHWEST

All Contents © Copyright The American Southwest | Comments and Questions | Contribute | Affiliate Marketing Disclosure | Site Map