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Hell on Earth: Lassen Volcanic National Park

Hell on Earth: Lassen Volcanic National Park

July 22, 2012998Views

Extending through the northern region of California’s Sacramento Valley, Lassen Volcanic National Park is an active volcanic region that inspired fear in the hearts of early settlers, who reported “fire thrown to a terrible height” and “burning lava running down the sides” of one the area’s volcanoes. Even today, with a much broader understanding of geology and volcanic science, to come upon the boiling mud pits of Bumpass Hell is shocking. Here you will find steaming fumaroles, bubbling hot springs, and layer upon layer of evidence of steady volcanic activity over the last few hundred years in the form of lava fields, cinder cones, and calderas. But it’s not all fire and brimstone in Lassen Volcanic National Park — stunning valley and mountain vistas await at every turn, and lush forests and greenery blanket the park year-round. For an other-worldly nature experience, you won’t want to miss Lassen Volcanic National Park.

 

Image via Bill Ward’s Brickpile