Want to See Some Incredible Volcanoes Up Close? Geology of California's Volcanoes, Sept. 27-Oct. 1, with Modesto Junior College

I write so much about my travels around the American West and elsewhere, and some might wonder where I find the time. Well...I tend to have a group of students with me. Geology, perhaps more than any other science, is best learned in the field, and our school recognizes the importance of field experiences. The community college system in California is of course one of the best alternatives for beginning a college education, a gateway to transferring into universities, but we also recognize lifelong learning as a part of our mission. Education doesn't just end with a degree. Professionals in one career can benefit from courses in related disciplines as a way of improving their job performance, or advancing up the pay scale. And all citizens can benefit from becoming better informed on the political issues of the day, such as climate change, or energy development (pulling some examples from geology).

With this in mind, I wanted to let my Modesto area-based readers know about some great field studies trips coming up this fall. On September 27-October 1, I'll be teaching Geology 185, the Geology of California's Volcanoes. We'll be exploring Mt. Shasta, Lava Beds National Monument, Medicine Lake Highland, and Lassen Volcanic National Park, as well as Castle Crags and McArthur-Burney Falls State Parks. We will be camping at Woodson Bridge State Park the first night, spend two nights at Lava Beds National Monument, and the last night at McArthur-Burney Falls State Park. There will be hiking and caving opportunities, and some simply incredible scenery among some of the youngest volcanic features in the western United States.

If this sounds intriguing, you can find more information at http://hayesg.faculty.mjc.edu/Cascades_field_studies.html. California residents pay the normal tuition rate (2 semester units), but the rate is higher for out of state participants. The $80 fee for the course covers the van transportation and fees at the various parks and campgrounds. The students provide their own food (we'll have stoves and fuel). For my local readers, we'll have an organizational meeting on Thursday, September 13 in the Science Community Center at Modesto Junior College, room 326, at 5:30 PM. Contact me if you have questions.

Exploring the Southern Cascade Range or Yosemite National Park for College Credit! Sept. 24-28 and Oct. 9-11

Captain Jack's Stronghold, where the Modoc people held out for months against U.S. troops. The site is protected today as Lava Beds National Monument.

This message is primarily for my readers in the Modesto region, but others are invited to consider this opportunity. Modesto Junior College has an active geology field studies program that offers the chance to explore some of the best geology on the planet, in the mountains and deserts of California and other parts of the American West. The courses provide valuable field experience for geology majors and teachers of earth science, and can provide rich life experiences for people who are casually interested in geology. We have a bit of room if you wish to join us!

The opening of Skull Cave, the largest lava tube entrance in Lava Beds National Monument.

We are offering two extended overnight trips this semester. On September 24-28, we will explore the geology of California's volcanoes (Geology 185; 2 semester units), and on October 9-11, we spend three days in and around Yosemite National Park (Geology 180; 1 semester unit). Both trips involve camping out in sometimes rugged conditions, using vans supplied by the department. The cost includes the per-unit registration fee, and an additional $90 for Geology 185, and $45 for Geology 180.

Valentine Cave in Lava Beds National Monument

The trip for Geology of California's Volcanoes will include stops at Castle Crags State Park in the Klamath Mountains, Mt. Shasta (including a drive to the end of the road at 8,000 feet), Lava Beds National Monument, Medicine Lake Highland (the biggest but not highest volcano in California), and Lassen Volcanic National Park. Some challenging hikes (and cave explorations) will be offered, but not required. One will be able to complete the course without great physical exertion, although one should be in reasonably good health to be out there traveling and camping.

McArthur-Burney Falls in the Cascade Range

The Geology 180 course, Geology of the Central Sierra Nevada, will explore all of the accessible parts of Yosemite National Park, including Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne Meadows, Glacier Point, and possibly Hetch Hetchy. We will be camping at Wawona and Crane Flat during the trip.

Lassen Peak is the most recent volcano to erupt in California, in 1914-15.

If you are in the Modesto area, we are having an organizational meeting for both of the trips on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 5:30 PM in Science Community Center 326 on the West Campus of MJC. If you can't make the meeting, contact me (hayesg(at)yosemite.edu). More information can be found at http://hayesg.faculty.mjc.edu/Cascades_field_studies.html and http://hayesg.faculty.mjc.edu/Yosemite_3_day.html. Several day trips will be offered later on in the semester, to the Mother Lode (if it hasn't burned completely up), and to Pinnacles National Park and the San Andreas fault.

Rivers Appearing Out of Nowhere: McArthur-Burney Falls State Park

Note: Sorry for the odd character of the photos. My hike was at dusk, and lighting was difficult!

There's no doubt that McArthur-Burney Falls are absolutely spectacular, almost otherworldly. Burney Creek spills over a high ledge of basalt and is joined by myriads of whitewater springs bursting out of the cliff below. It falls into a gigantic deep blue pool of water before flowing down to the reservoir a mile or so downstream.

It is cool and moist even in the driest and hottest part of the year, because the springs that feed the fall are practically impervious to seasonal changes. A lot of water passes through the park each day, something like 100 million gallons every 24 hours.

The geology is interesting. The region includes horizontal flows of basaltic rock along with intervening layers of lake sediments and diatomite. The basalt is jointed and broken up and allows water to sink quickly into the ground (surface streams are surprisingly rare in this wet climate). The diatomite and siltstone layers are impermeable and don't allow water to sink deeper into the ground. It is instead forced to flow sideways until it flows out at a spring such as those in the face of McArthur-Burney Falls

What makes the falls more intriguing is the incredible contrast between the river downstream and upstream of the falls. Downstream, Burney Creek has a sizable flow, as seen below.

I decided to check out the river upstream of the falls and headed up the trail. Fall colors were just beginning to make an appearance.

I can now say I spent some time this summer on the Pacific Crest Trail. A whole mile of it, in fact! It runs through McArthur-Burney Falls State Park on the west side of the creek. It was quiet and quite devoid of other hikers on the Sunday evening when I was exploring.

At the upstream end of the park, Burney Creek is AWOL. There is only a dry channel lined with basalt boulders, aspens and willows.

Making my way downstream, I found a spot where the river appears as a series of pools, but at this point it is not yet flowing. The water table is intersecting the channel of the stream and rising to the surface.

Just a bit further downstream, the river has grown, and after a few hundred yards more, it is a large stream that makes the bold leap over the ledge of basalt.

This has been a strange landscape we have been traveling through, an entire shield volcano with no surface water beyond a glacial lake at the summit caldera, and a lava plateau, also with limited water. Yet the climate is wet, and is ultimately the source for much of the water flowing in the Sacramento River.

I headed back to camp. Tomorrow was the last day of the field class, and we were going to pay a visit to Lassen Volcanic National Park!

Exploring the Cascades: Home from the Road

 It's always hectic in the week or two after a major field trip, and this week is no exception, so it's a bit more difficult to post detailed explanations. I want to spend some time exploring the Cascades with you all, but for now, how about a short collection of photographs so you can see the kind of trip we had? We did a loop through the Cascades Range and Modoc Plateau of Northern California. Along the way we saw world class examples of practically every kind of volcanic feature there is.

Above is Mt. Shasta and Shastina, a huge composite cone that dominates the scenery of the north state. The mountain tops out at 14,162 feet, and is still considered quite active with eruptions as recently as 1786.

 We spent much of our time at Lava Beds National Monument, a lesser-known park near the Oregon border south of Klamath Falls. It is a fascinating region to explore. It is on the flank of Medicine Lake Highland, a huge shield complex, and it offers marvelous vistas.

Besides the numerous excellent examples of cinder cones and lava flows, it has around 700 lava tubes with something like 75 miles of passageways. The picture below is a shot of Valentine Cave, one of the most accessible of the lava tubes. These tubes are the main plumbing system of basaltic lava flows, and as the eruptions ended, the tubes drained.

We spent a night at beautiful McArthur Burney Falls State Park. An explanation of the falls will be forthcoming in a later post.

Our last exploration was Lassen Volcanic National Park, where we had a chance to explore the largest plug dome on the planet. The park also has some interesting geothermal areas, expecially Bumpass Hell.

We had a great time!

The Other California: A Mystery Solved, and One of the State's Prettiest Little Waterfalls

Monday's post was a bit of mystery, in that a dry channel turned into a rushing stream in less than a half mile. The answer is sort of mundane, but quickly leads into the story of one of the finest, most attractive waterfalls that I know of. It's on a lot of postcards, but I don't think many visitors from outside of the state know much of it. Welcome to McArthur Burney Falls State Park, the second oldest state park in California.

At the hard to define boundary between the Modoc Plateau and the Cascades provinces, basaltic lava flows are interspersed with lake sediments, and a series of fault lines cross the region. Basalt lava contracts as it cools, forming numerous fractures and joints that provide an avenue for surface water to sink into the ground. Consequently, streams and rivers can disappear and reappear in unusual places, sometimes in spectacular manner. Some of the largest springs in the country are found nearby (At Fall River Mills, a group of springs have flows of around 1,400 cubic feet per second, an instant river). Another spring rises on the Burney River (below), forming the river of our little mystery. It's what happens just a short distance downstream that makes this place special.

The water spills over a 129 foot edifice, which in a state that has dozens of high waterfalls might seem insignificant.

From farther back, we see that the water splits into two channels, but we also see that something is going on below the rim. Some of the water is coming is flowing out of the cliff face itself. In fact, a lot of it, perhaps more than is spilling over the edge.

The lip of the fall is a basaltic lava flow. The rock beneath the cliff is much softer, consisting of clay-like diatomite and volcanic breccia. The groundwater can't sink through the underlying layers, and is forced to the surface just under the basalt rim. It makes for a unique sight.

A short trail descends to a deep pool at the base of the falls, and provides another perspective. The amount of water is stunning. The flow of groundwater at the falls is far less affected by seasonal differences in precipitation, so the discharge remains fairly constant all year. If you are visiting California in the late summer, McArthur Burney is a dependable place to see flowing water.

My only (mild) complaint about the falls is that the basin opens to the north, so the sun doesn't shine on the falls much, except maybe mid-day (when I never seem to be present). Photographers do pretty well catching rainbows in the spray rising over the falls, but at the base, pretty much everything is in the shadows. It's a cool place to be on a hot day, but difficult to photograph (at least for amateurs like myself)!

The park offers a nice campground, incredible fishing, and a nice network of hiking trails (the Pacific Crest Trail passes through the park). Information can be found in the park brochure. The California state budget crisis threatens the park's future. For info on how you can help out, check out the California State Parks Foundation. The parks don't deserve to be constant budget footballs; please get involved!