Hello, friends! Lassen Volcanic National Park, in Northern California, U.S.A. is a spectacular destination where the volcanic furnaces underground are at work for over 600,000 years! Steam vents (fumaroles), bubbling and gurgling mudpots, hissing hotsprings and thermal pools are seen, heard and smelled at several locations. Lassen has all kinds of hydrothermal activity but no geisers. These phenomena are more concentrated at the "Sulphur Works" and "Bumpass Hell." The park has several pristine waterfalls of breathtaking beauty and grandeur, notably the Vidae Falls along the main road and the Kings Creek falls, which is reached by a relatively short and easy and a remarkably scenic and picturesque hike. In this gallery, you will see several photographs of these obtained at different levels and angles.

The park has two lakes, Manzanita Lake and Reflection Lake. Both are situated near the Northwestern Entrance to the park. A museum (Loomis Museum) provides very valuable information, including a pictorial depiction of the park and its natural history.

The Lassen Park Road, the main road of the park, traverses between the two park entrances, one at the southwestern end and the other at the northwestern. This 30-mile winding drive is the main thoroughfare and will bring you to the main attractions of the park.

The majestic and imposing Mt.Lassen, visible from everywhere in the park, peaks to 10,457 ft.above sea level. A trail(Lassen Trail) will takes you to the summit. The valley floor at the parking lot is at the 8,463 ft.level. The zigzagging trail is quite steep and the ascent is difficult and you must be acclimatized to such a high altitude before you attempt the feat. You have to go uphill 2.5 miles to reach the top. The round trip is completed in 4-5 hours. If a storm threatens there is a danger from lightning strike too!

There was a huge volcanic eruption at the Lassen peak in May 1915. Various degrees of eruptions and explosions and volcanic activity were noted there in the past also, and of considerable magnitude in other parts of the park as well, during the past several hundred thousand years. Since 1921, the Lassen peak has fortunately been quiet.

There is another very attractive and scenic section of the Lassen Volcanic National Park to see. And for this you have to leave the main park boundaries at its Northwestern end and enter the Lassen National Forest to drive a few miles to reach it. It is the CINDER DOME section of the park. It is a spectacular and a towering 755 ft.high mound of lava from past volcanic explosions. The top of the gigantic dome is 6,907 ft.above sea level. There is a large accumulation of multicolored cinders all around the area, which you will see in the photographs. You may follow the cone trail and reach the top, which is a very strenuous walk over the 5-mile round-trip. I once tried to climb and had covered more than half the distance to the peak. Walking on large collections of gray-black cinders and ash had become excruciatingly slow and almost impossible and I had to stop and abandon my efforts! Thank you for viewing. JARIS

I will be adding images until they are finished.