Lava Beds National Monument and Vicinity

August 9th and 10th

We left Klamath Falls, Oregon, and drove south into northern California.  We had done some research to see what might be interesting to visit on our way south, and came up with Lava Beds National Monument.  Lava Beds is located just over the border into California.  Its lies on the flank of a massive volcano called Medicine Lake.  There are several different types of volcanoes.  The one we usually think of, the pointy-topped mountain, is called a composite volcano.  Medicine Lake is a shield volcano which, as its name suggests, is flat-topped, not very high, but covers a lot of territory.  They are created with multiple cinder cones, lava tubes and spatter cones.  It is considered dormant, but the last eruption was less than 1100 years ago, so activity is likely again.

As we drove into the park, we passed by Tule Lake, which is a wildlife refuge.  It was swarming with birds of all types, many of which we were not familiar with.  One was interesting- it was black with a gold head and chest, and with some research, we determined he was a yellow-headed black bird.  Really pretty. Another great bird sighting was of white pelicans- at least 30 birds in several groups, patrolling the area.  We could see Mt. Shasta off in the distance, looking spooky with its base obscured by smoke.   An interesting fact about Tule Lake- it used to be a lot larger, but the government decided to drain it to create more fertile land in the area.  The fertile land was then given to veterans after WW I and WWII to farm.  OK, that idea is nice, but.... let me see, draining a lake in the desert to create land to farm... seems a little short-sighted to me.  After all, the water is needed for farming, and you have now made that vital resource smaller!

Another interesting piece of history is related to the Medoc Indians, who inhabited this area for centuries prior to the westward migration.  There are thousands of carved petroglyphs and painted pictographs, many of which have been protected.  Most are located on a cliff called Petroglyph Point, a high cliff used by many birds including cliff swallows, hawks, and peregrine falcons.  It is used as a winter home by hundreds of bald eagles.  You could tell which ledges, nooks and crannies were used by the birds by the white guano staining the stone.  The number of petroglyphs was incredible.  It was difficult in some areas, however, to determine when some may have been added at a later date.  The area is protected with fencing now.

The Indians used this lava rock-strewn area as a fortress during the Modoc wars, when the U.S. Army was called in to protect settlers in the area.  The Medocs were asked to give up their homeland to live on a reservation.  They did so, but left when tensions rose due to limited resources.  The Army was told to return them to the reservation by force if needed.  In their fortress, the Modocs were able to hold off the army for nearly 5 months.  Peace negotiations failed, and the band of Indians was captured.  The leader, known as Captain Jack, and three others were hanged.  The families were sent to Oklahoma and never saw their homeland again.

Lava Beds also has a large number of caves and lava tubes that can be toured.  The caves are habitat for 14 species of bats.  We again chose not to tour these caves.  They were requiring hard hats (sold at the Visitor Center), flashlights, and hard-soled shoes.  They were also providing education on the white nose fungus we learned about at Mammoth Caves.

Blazing Star

Edge of the lava field

Lava bed

Headwall of lava

Lava rock with new growth

Moon over lava

Distant view of snow-capped Mt. Shasta

Petroglyph Point

Petroglyphs

Yellow-headed black bird

This was an interesting park, and if you are in the area, certainly worth a visit.

We decided to find a small town to stay for a few days, basing our choice on the presence of a golf course.  We found a town just southwest of the monument called Alturas.  They had a nine hole course, relatively flat.  We checked it out on our way into town, and decided to play the next day.  By the next morning, we decided one night here was enough- the town was just too small with not much going on, and not much nearby to do.  We walked nine holes on Friday morning before we left town.  We had the pleasure of seeing Mule deer on the course, one of whom spent his entire morning sleeping in the shade of a tree right next to the 8th tee.  The players didn't concern him in the least!  It was a pretty basic course, the folks were really nice, so overall a good experience.  Needing somewhere with more to do, we decided to head back to Nevada to Carson City for a few days.