Lava Beds National Monument
Volcanoes, lakes, lava beds, and calderas
In a land, not so far away, are
majestic snow covered volcanoes, immense
lava beds filled with tortured rock
shapes, deep frozen caves formed from
lava tubes, towering cinder cones
scarcely covered in flora, and enormous
calderas fashioned by the collapse of
whole mountains. This land is the realm
of Klamath Falls in Oregon and is only
five and a half hours drive away from
Oakland.
It is a big trip, but this is a trip
of a lifetime. Before you cross the
northern most border of the Golden
State, you will arrive at the Lava Beds
National Monument. Here the imposing
Mount Shasta is your backdrop. Before
you, framed by colossal escarpments and
burnt-out cinder cones, are numerous
fields of frozen lava. The place is a
monument to massive pyroclastic gushes
from 3,000-year-old volcanism and to the
last stand of the Modoc Native Americas.
At the sleepy little town of Klamath
Falls you will be able to walk around
the stupendous Upper Klamath Lake and
wonder about trails frequented with
turtles, water snakes, red winged black
birds, red tailed hawks, grebes,
pelicans, egrets, and many other birds
and animals.
Imagine a 14,000-foot mountain, snow
capped and majestic. It sat for
millennia reaching up to the sky. Then
visualize it exploding with pyroclastic
fury and collapsing downward into an
enormous caldera beneath the massive
peak. If you can envisage this then you
have realized Crater Lake National Park.
Today the purest water fills the
enormous carter left by this incredible
event endowing the lake with a cobalt
blue color. Late into the summer Cater
Lake is snowbound and cold, so take warm
clothes when you visit. If you do not
visit it, you are depriving yourself an
experience of a lifetime. Make the
effort and drive to this mysterious
ancient place, this land of majestic
snow covered volcanoes, lava beds,
caves, towering cinder cones, and
enormous calderas; this realm of Klamath
Falls in Oregon.