If you’re looking for an extraordinary place to explore nature, you certainly won’t be disappointed with California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park. Located in Northern California between Sacramento and the Oregon/California border, this expansive park features an area of active volcanism. The park is replete with boiling mud-pots, churning hot-springs, and fumaroles spewing the stench of sulfur. Despite the smell, this park in particular, holds all four types of volcanoes: plug dome, cinder cone, shield, and strato.
Mount Lassen
Mount Lassen is the focal point of Lassen Volcanic National Park, holding its place mightily as the world’s largest plug volcano. Visitors to the park can marvel at the diverse terrain found within the park, including cinder cones dotting a vast lava plateau at over a mile above sea level, and thick expanses of pine and fir forest that stretch out in every direction. Several geothermal areas throughout the park encompass the aforementioned mud-pots, hotsprings, fumaroles, and large meadows. These spots are filled with wildflowers can be enjoyed in the summer months.
Winter Conditions
Winter conditions in the park are extreme, and therefore not well-suited for visitors in the colder months. Lassen Volcanic National Park, in particular, receives more precipitation in the Coascade Mountain Range, anywhere south of the Three Sisters. It is not unusual for snow accumulation to reach up to 12 meters on the road near Lake Helen. Patches of snow and snowbanks can persist in the area well into July, if not year round.
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Featured Image from Yang Liu/Unsplash
