Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Lava Beds National Monument, Tuesday, August 22, 2017

We started at the visitor center, and then walked to the nearby Mushpot Cave.  It is the only cave that has lights and is an easy walk into the cave.



The cave is named for this formation.



Most of the caves here are lava tubes.


We then found a picnic table in the shade for our lunch.


We drove around the monument and stopped at Bunchgrass Overlook to learn about the different habitats, from desert to mountain.






We stopped at the Merrill Ice Cave and went in about 100 yards.





Then it was on to the "spatter cones" named Fleener Chimneys.















Black Crater allowed us to see more lava flows.






The Civilian Conservation Corp built a lot of the infrastructure in the monument.


 We learned about the Modoc War of 1873, but had a special visitor when we visited Captain Jack's Stronghold.




We saw how Tule Lake had been drained and where it was when the Modoc War was going on.


All of this land was under water until Tule Lake was drained.


At Hospital Rock, we learned more about the Modoc War.







No comments:

Post a Comment