Devils Postpile National Monument is a
U.S. National Monument
In the United States, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government by proclamation of the President of the United States or an act of Congress. National monuments prot ...
located near
Mammoth Mountain
Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex partially located within the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, in the Inyo National Forest of Madera and Mono Counties. It is home to a large ski area primarily on the Mono County side.
Mammoth Mount ...
in
Eastern California
Eastern California is a region defined as either the strip to the east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada or as the easternmost counties of California.
Demographics
According to the 2010 census, the population of the eastern border counties of Ca ...
. The monument protects Devils Postpile, an unusual rock formation of
columnar basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...
, “all closely and perfectly fitted together like a vast mosaic.”
The monument encompasses and includes two main attractions: the Devils Postpile formation and
Rainbow Falls, a waterfall on the Middle Fork of the
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...
. In addition, the
John Muir Trail
The John Muir Trail (JMT) (Northern Paiute language, Paiute: Nüümü Poyo, ''N-ue-mue Poh-yo'') is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, ...
and
Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...
merge into one trail as they pass through the monument.
Excluding a small developed area containing the monument headquarters, visitor center and a campground, the National Monument lies within the borders of the
Ansel Adams Wilderness
The Ansel Adams Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada of California, United States. The wilderness spans ; 33.9% of the territory lies in the Inyo National Forest, 65.8% is in the Sierra National Forest, and the remaining 0.3% cove ...
.
History
![Rainbow Falls Devils Postpile](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Rainbow_Falls_Devils_Postpile.jpg)
The monument was established in 1911 as "Devil Postpile National Monument," (no possessive) but is widely referred to as Devils Postpile National Monument, and has been officially styled as plural without the apostrophe since the 1930s.
An alternate historic name was Devil’s Woodpile. “In every scenic freak the sheep-herder recognizes the work of his Satanic majesty. This formation is therefore known to local fame as the Devil’s Woodpile.”
The monument was once part of
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...
, but discovery of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
in 1905 near
Mammoth Lakes
Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only incorporated community. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,191, r ...
prompted a boundary change that left the Postpile on adjacent
public land
In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land (Australia, and Canada). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countrie ...
.
Later, a proposal to build a
hydroelectric dam
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
called for blasting the Postpile into the river. Influential Californians, including
John Muir
John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, a ...
, persuaded the federal government to stop the demolition and, in 1911, President
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
protected the area as a
National Monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure.
The term may also refer to a spec ...
.
Flora and fauna
The elevation of the national monument is between , and the flora and fauna are typical of the western Sierra Nevada at these elevations.
The monument area contains animals and plants such as
black bear
Black bear or Blackbear may refer to:
Animals
* American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species
* Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species
Music
* Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
s,
pine marten
The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...
s,
mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whit ...
,
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
s,
quaking aspen
''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...
,
black cottonwood
''Populus trichocarpa'', the black cottonwood, western balsam-poplar or California poplar, is a deciduous broadleaf tree species native to western North America. It is used for timber, and is notable as a model organism in plant biology.
...
,
alder
Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...
, and
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
s,
Dark-eyed junco
The dark-eyed junco (''Junco hyemalis'') is a species of junco, a group of small, grayish New World sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. It is a very variable species, much ...
s and
white-crowned sparrow
The white-crowned sparrow (''Zonotrichia leucophrys'') is a species of passerine bird native to North America. A medium-sized member of the New World sparrow family, this species is marked by a grey face and black and white streaking on the uppe ...
s are common in the summer.
Native wildflowers include:
*Crimson columbine (''
Aquilegia formosa
''Aquilegia formosa'', the crimson columbine, western columbine, or (ambiguously) "red columbine", is a common wildflower native to western North America, from Alaska to Baja California, and eastward to Montana and Wyoming.
Description
''Aquileg ...
'')
*Giant red Indian paintbrush (''
Castilleja miniata
''Castilleja miniata'' is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name giant red Indian paintbrush. It is native to western North America from Alaska to Ontario to California to New Mexico, where it grows usually in moist places in a ...
'')
*Pine forest larkspur (''
Delphinium gracilentum'')
*Sierra shooting star (''
Dodecatheon jeffreyi
''Primula jeffreyi'', synonym ''Dodecatheon jeffreyi'', is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family known by the common names Sierra shooting star, Jeffrey's shooting star, and tall mountain shooting star. This wildflower is native t ...
'')
*Wandering fleabane (''
Erigeron peregrinus
''Erigeron peregrinus'' is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name wandering fleabane.
''Erigeron peregrinus'' is native to northwestern North America from Alaska to Oregon. Some populations ...
'')
*Shortleaf hulsea (''
Hulsea brevifolia'')
*Sierra tiger lily (''
Lilium parvum
''Lilium parvum'' is a species of lily known by the common names Sierra tiger lily and alpine lily. It is native to the mountains of the western United States, primarily the Sierra Nevada of California but also with additional populations in nor ...
'')
*Large-leaved lupine (''
Lupinus polyphyllus
''Lupinus polyphyllus'', the large-leaved lupine, big-leaved lupine, many-leaved lupine, blue-pod lupine, or, primarily in cultivation, garden lupin, is a species of lupine (lupin) native to western North America from southern Alaska and Britis ...
'')
*Common yellow monkeyflower (''
Mimulus guttatus
''Erythranthe guttata'', with the common names seep monkeyflower and common yellow monkeyflower, is a yellow bee-pollinated annual or perennial plant. It was formerly known as ''Mimulus guttatus''.
''Erythranthe guttata'' is a model organism f ...
'')
*Parish's yampah (''
Perideridia parishii'')
*Sticky cinquefoil (''
Potentilla glandulosa'')
*Ranger's buttons (''
Angelica capitellata'')
*California corn lily (''
Veratrum californicum
''Veratrum californicum'' (California corn lily, white or California false hellebore) is an extremely poisonous plant native to western North America, including the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, as far north as Washington and as far south ...
'')
Access
The most common method for accessing Devils Postpile is via the mandatory shuttle bus operated by Eastern Sierra Transit Authority in the summer months,
followed by a 1/4 mile walk. The shuttle route begins at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area's Adventure Center and makes several stops throughout the valley and begins operating when the Reds Meadow Road opens in the summer, and continues through Labor Day weekend.
Devils Postpile is also accessible on foot from Mammoth Lakes by hiking over Mammoth Pass and into the Reds Meadow Valley. During the winter months, there are no services available, but adventurers can visit the site via cross-country ski or snowshoe.
Devils Postpile
![California, Devils Postpile National Monument, columns top](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/California%2C_Devils_Postpile_National_Monument%2C_columns_top.jpg)
The name "Devils Postpile" refers to a dark cliff of
columnar basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...
.
Radiometric dating
Radiometric dating, radioactive dating or radioisotope dating is a technique which is used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed. The method compares t ...
indicates the formation was created by a lava flow at some time less than 100,000 years ago.
[ The source of the lava is thought to have been somewhere near Upper Soda Springs ]campground
A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for camping, overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight u ...
at the north end of Pumice Flat on the floor of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...
, from where it flowed to the site of the Postpile. Estimates of the formation's thickness range from to . The lava that now makes up the Postpile was near the bottom of this mass.[
Because of its great thickness, much of the mass of pooled lava cooled slowly and evenly, which is why the columns are so long and so symmetrical. Columnar jointing occurs when certain types of lava contract while cooling.
A ]glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
later removed much of this mass of rock and left a polished surface on top of the columns with very noticeable glacial striations
Glacial striations or striae are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by glacial abrasion. These scratches and gouges were first recognized as the result of a moving glacier in the late 18th century when Swiss alpinists first associated them ...
and glacial polish
Glacial polish is a characteristic of rock surfaces where glaciers have passed over bedrock, typically granite or other hard igneous or metamorphic rock. Moving ice will carry pebbles and sand grains removed from upper levels which in turn grind ...
.[
The Postpile's columns average in diameter (“The columns vary in size from ten to 30 inches in diameter.”]), the largest being , and many are up to long.
Together they look like tall posts stacked in a pile, hence the feature's name. If the lava had cooled perfectly evenly, all of the columns would be expected to be hexagonal, but some of the columns have different polygonal cross-sections due to variations in cooling. A survey of 400 of the Postpile's columns found that 44.5% were 6-sided, 37.5% 5-sided, 9.5% 4-sided, 8.0% 7-sided, and 0.5% 3-sided. Compared with other examples of columnar jointing, the Postpile has more hexagonal columns. Another feature that places the Postpile in a special category is the lack of horizontal jointing.
Similar structures
Although the basaltic columns are impressive, they are not unique. Basalt columns are a common volcanic feature, and they occur on many scales (faster cooling produces smaller columns). Other notable sites include Svartifoss
Svartifoss ( Icelandic for "black waterfall", ) is a waterfall in Skaftafell in Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland, and is one of the most popular sights in the park. It is surrounded by dark lava columns, which gave rise to its name.
The bas ...
in Vatnajökull National Park
Vatnajökull National Park ( is, Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður ) is one of three national parks in Iceland. It encompasses all of Vatnajökull glacier and extensive surrounding areas. These include the national parks previously existing at Skaftafel ...
in Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, Giant's Causeway
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, Fingal's Cave
Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, known for its natural acoustics. The National Trust for Scotland owns the cave as part of a national nature reserve. It became known as Finga ...
in Scotland, Titan's Piazza of the Mount Holyoke Range
The Holyoke Range or Mount Holyoke Range is a traprock mountain range located in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. It is a sub-range of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticu ...
in , the Garni Gorge
The Garni Gorge is situated 23 km east of Yerevan, Armenia, just below the village of the same name. On a promontory above the gorge the first-century AD Temple of Garni may be seen. Along the sides of the gorge are cliff walls of well-preserv ...
in Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, the Cyclopean Isles
The Cyclopean Isles (Italian: ''Isole Ciclopi''), noted for their rows of basaltic columns piled one above another, lie not far from Mount Etna off the eastern coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea.
Geology
Formed about 500,000 years ago, th ...
near Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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, Sheepeater Cliff at Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
in Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
, Basaltic Prisms of Santa María Regla
The Basaltic Prisms of Santa María Regla are tall Columnar jointing, columnar joints of basalt rock near Huasca de Ocampo in the Mexico, Mexican state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, that line a ravine through which water runs from the San Antonio ...
in Huasca de Ocampo
Huasca de Ocampo () is a town and municipalities of Mexico, municipality of the state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo in central Mexico. It is located 34 km from Pachuca and 16 km from Real del Monte in the Pachuca Mountains. While the town ...
, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, the Organ Pipes formation on Mount Cargill
Mount Cargill, known in Māori as Kapukataumahaka,Place names'' on Kāti Huirapa Runaka ki Puketeraki website, viewed 2012-01-04 is a volcanic outcrop which dominates the skyline of northern Dunedin, New Zealand.
The peak is named for Captain ...
in New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, Gilbert Hill
Gilbert Hill is a monolith column of black basalt rock at Andheri, in Mumbai, India. The rock has a sheer vertical face and was formed when molten lava was squeezed out of the Earth's clefts during the Mesozoic Era about 66 million years ago. ...
in Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, Organ Pipes National Park
The Organ Pipes National Park, abbreviated as OPNP, is a national park located in the Central region of Victoria, Australia. The protected area was established with the focus on conservation of the native flora and fauna, and preservation of ...
in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and the Column Cape (Russian: ''Mis Stolbchaty'') on Kunashir Island
, other_names = kz, Kün Ashyr; ja, 国後島
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, locator_map = File:Kurily Kunashir.svg
, coordinates =
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, total_islands =
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, the southernmost of the Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
, Cerro Colorado and Mar Brava (Ancud) in Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. Columnar basalt can also be seen in a high desert dry river falls area just north of Lajitas, Texas
Lajitas is an unincorporated community in Brewster County, Texas, United States, near the Big Bend National Park. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 75 in 2010.
History
The settlement is named after the Boquill ...
. The much more massive Devils Tower National Monument
Devils Tower (also known as Bear Lodge Butte) is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fo ...
in Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
is superficially similar but consists of a phonolite
Phonolite is an uncommon extrusive rock, of intermediate chemical composition between felsic and mafic, with texture ranging from aphanitic (fine-grained) to porphyritic (mixed fine- and coarse-grained). Phonolite is a variation of the igneous ...
porphyry, formed by the intrusion
In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
of igneous rock
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rock ...
.
See also
* Ansel Adams Wilderness
The Ansel Adams Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada of California, United States. The wilderness spans ; 33.9% of the territory lies in the Inyo National Forest, 65.8% is in the Sierra National Forest, and the remaining 0.3% cove ...
* Devils Postpile National Monument Ranger Cabin
The Devils Postpile National Monument Ranger Cabin, in Devils Postpile National Monument, is located on Minaret Summit Road, about from the summit. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
According to its NRHP nominatio ...
* Gilbert Hill
Gilbert Hill is a monolith column of black basalt rock at Andheri, in Mumbai, India. The rock has a sheer vertical face and was formed when molten lava was squeezed out of the Earth's clefts during the Mesozoic Era about 66 million years ago. ...
* Little Devils Postpile
* Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada The protected areas of the Sierra Nevada, a major mountain range located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, are numerous and highly diverse. Like the mountain range itself, these areas span hundreds of miles along the length of the range, ...
References
Bibliography
* ''Roadside Geology of Northern and Central California'', Alt, Hyndman (Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula; 2000)
External links
NPS Devils Postpile National Monument website
Geology field notes
*
{{authority control
National Park Service National Monuments in California
Parks in Madera County, California
Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Columnar basalts
Rock formations of California
Volcanic plugs of California
Landforms of Madera County, California
Protected areas established in 1911
1911 establishments in California