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The Geology of Lava Beds

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The Geology of Lava Beds National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Lava Beds Lava Beds National Monument The Geology of Lava Beds Medicine Lake Volcano Where did the lava Driving into Lava Beds National Monument, few people realize that they are come from? traveling up the side of a massive volcano. The monument is located on the Medicine Lake shield volcano, which is the largest volcano by volume in the Cascade Range at 144 cubic miles. Shield volcanoes are broad, gently sloping mountains that form from many dispersed, low energy eruptions of very fluid molten rock. These liquid rock flows are able to travel great distances before hardening, and result in a large, low-profile volcano. This is in contrast to the tall, pointed composite cones (or stratovolcanoes) that form from eruptions of relatively thick, cool lavas exploding or oozing from a central collection of vents. This viscous lava travels only a short distance before hardening into a steep cone, much like Mount Shasta. Shield Volcano Composite Volcano (Medicine Lake) (Mount Shasta) Why is the Medicine The Medicine Lake shield volcano, Fuca Plate sliding under the North Lake shield volcano and in fact the entire Cascade Range, American Plate. As it dives deep into here? is the result of tectonic plate the Earth it drags water underground. movement. The crust of the Earth is The water lowers the melting point of broken up into plates that move slowly the mantle, allowing it to melt into around the Earth’s surface driven by magma, which then rises to the surface heat energy deep in the Earth’s as lava. interior. In places where the plates collide, one plate will often slide under the other in a process known as Crust “subduction.” The Medicine Lake Mantle Volcano is the result of the Juan de When did the Medicine The Medicine Lake Volcano has were relatively recent in geologic Lake Volcano erupt? erupted intermittently for the past half- terms, Medicine Lake is considered an million years, but most of the lava in active volcano. It is currently dormant the monument erupted thirty to forty (not erupting), but seismic activity and thousand years ago from Mammoth continued tectonic movement suggest and Modoc Craters. The most recent that it will erupt again in the future. flows from the Medicine Lake Volcano can be found at Glass Mountain (south of Lava Beds in the Modoc National Forest) which erupted about 950 years ago. The most recent lava flow in the monument is the Callahan flow, which erupted 1,200 years ago. Since these last eruptions Mammoth Crater What are the geologic features As you explore Lava Beds, you will find a number of interesting geologic features. Keep of Lava Beds? your eyes open for the following clues to volcanic and tectonic activity in the area: Lava Tube Caves Basaltic eruptions, like those found in Based on how they form, it may seem as the monument, usually begin with a though the monument should have a few flood of lava. In areas of lower very long caves rather than many shorter Cooled, hardened surface elevation, such as valleys, the lava ones. In some cases, a single lava river moves faster and takes longer to cool, forms multiple caves because parts of the creating a network of lava rivers and lava river never hardened into rock. In tributaries. Eventually, in much the other cases, the roof formed, but it was same way that a river of water can too weak to support itself and collapsed freeze over with ice, the surfaces of after the lava drained out. Luckily, the these lava rivers cool and harden into collapses in Lava Beds’ caves occurred rock. This rock insulates the lava that when the lava first drained thousands of continues to flow inside. When the years ago, and the cave roofs are now supply of lava stops, the tube drains, very stable. leaving behind a hollow cast known as Molten interior a lava tube. Cinder Cones Known locally as buttes, these rounded Due to their loose, rocky nature, these hills dot the Lava Beds landscape. They features are highly prone to erosion, are the result of highly pressurized lava and we ask that visitors refrain from with many dissolved gases that erupt hiking on cinder cones without violently, blowing a fountain of molten established trails. However, the rock into the air. The lava cools mid-air monument does have one cinder and falls as rock fragments, creating a cone, Schonchin Butte, with a 0.7 mound of cinders that eventually grows to mile trail to the top. Visitors who Schonchin Butte cover the vent. Once most of the gases make the hike to the fire lookout at have been released, fluid lava begins the summit will be rewarded with leaking from the vent or from the base of breath-taking views of the the cinder cone, sometimes dragging the surrounding mountains, buttes, and side of the cone with it, stretching and the Tule Lake Basin. deforming the butte. Spatter Cones Spatter cones form through a process Impressive examples of spatter cones similar to that of cinder cones, but with can be found at Black Crater and some important differences. These Fleener Chimneys. While the vent that eruptions occur on a smaller scale, and the created Black Crater became fully lava that creates them has not cooled much plugged with lava, making it a shallow by the time it hits the ground. This semi- spatter cone, the vents at Fleener molten rock behaves like plaster thrown Chimneys were plugged much further into the air around the central vent. It is down, leaving deep tubes. Please help Fleener Chimneys thick and sticky, and it builds up into tall, us preserve these impressive features by lumpy, chimney-like features. staying on the trail and not throwing rocks or trash into the chimneys! Fault Scarps Like volcanoes, these steep slopes and crust. The result is a steep slope along cliffs are also the result of tectonic forces. the fault. In Lava Beds, the stretching They are created through a process known North American Plate broke the crust as extension, which is when a tectonic along Gillem Bluff to the west and ← → plate is pulled in two different directions. along the Clear Lake Hills to the east Clear This causes the plate to break along its of the monument. As the plate Gillem Lake weak points and creates a series of continued to stretch and the weight of Bluff Hills parallel cracks, or faults. As the plate the volcano grew in size with each Tule Lake continues to pull apart, wedges of land eruption, the land between these faults Basin sink down between the faults into the sank to create the Tule Lake Basin. EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA .
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