6/20/14: Volcanic National Park

Volcanic National Park is home to many volcanic mountains and interesting geological features. It is the only park that has all four kinds of volcanoes: cinder cones, lava domes, shield volcanoes, and composite volcanoes.

The last large eruption in the park occurred in 1914, and the damage from that eruption still scars the landscape. It was the last in a series of eruptions of Mt. Lassen. The volcano is currently dormant, and there are nine seismographs around the park measuring activity to help scientists predict the next eruption.

Lassen Peak has an elevation of about 10,400 feet, and you can drive up to about 8,500 feet by car. We drove up there in the Tioga along steep mountain roads with switchbacks and no guard rails (hoo-wee!). Then we took a hike up the side of Mt. Lassen until the snow on the trail prevented us from going further.

On the way up the mountain side, we caught a glimpse of the Tioga down in the parking lot:

The girls had fun playing in the snow:

Views from our hike:

:) Connie