Long Valley Caldera is a depression 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 ...
that is adjacent to
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 ...
. The valley is one of the Earth's largest
caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
s, measuring about long (east-west), wide (north-south), and up to deep.
Long Valley was formed 760,000 years ago when a
very large eruption released hot ash that later cooled to form the
Bishop tuff
The Bishop Tuff is a welded tuff that formed 764,800 ± 600 years ago as a rhyolitic pyroclastic flow during the approximately six day eruption that created the Long Valley Caldera. Large outcrops of the tuff are located in Inyo and Mono Countie ...
that is common to the area. The eruption emptied the
magma chamber
A magma chamber is a large pool of liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth. The molten rock, or magma, in such a chamber is less dense than the surrounding country rock, which produces buoyant forces on the magma that tend to drive it upw ...
under the area to the point of collapse. The second phase of the eruption released
pyroclastic flow
A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of bu ...
s that burned and buried thousands of square miles. Ash from this eruption blanketed much of the
western part of what is now the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Geography
The caldera is a giant bowl-shaped depression, approximately wide, surrounded by mountains except to the southeast. The elevation of the bottom of the bowl ranges from , being higher in the west.
Near the center of the bowl, there is a
resurgent dome
In geology, a resurgent dome is a dome formed by swelling or rising of a caldera floor due to movement in the magma chamber beneath it. Unlike a lava dome, a resurgent dome is not formed by the extrusion of highly viscous lava onto the surfac ...
formed by
magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...
tic uplift. The southeastern slope from the caldera down towards
Bishop, California
Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is a city in California, United States. It is the largest populated place and only incorporated city in Inyo County. Bishop is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley, at an elevation of . The city was na ...
, is filled with the
Bishop Tuff
The Bishop Tuff is a welded tuff that formed 764,800 ± 600 years ago as a rhyolitic pyroclastic flow during the approximately six day eruption that created the Long Valley Caldera. Large outcrops of the tuff are located in Inyo and Mono Countie ...
, solidified ash that was ejected during the eruption that created the caldera. The Bishop tuff is thousands of feet thick and is cut by the
Owens River
The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 17, 2011, It drains into and through the ...
Gorge, formed during the Pleistocene when the caldera filled with water and overtopped its rim.
The rim of the caldera is formed from pre-existing rock, rising about above the caldera floor.
[ However, the eastern rim is lower, only about .][
]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 ...
is a lava dome
In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions on ...
complex west of the structural rim of the caldera, consisting of about 12 rhyodacite
Rhyodacite is a volcanic rock intermediate in composition between dacite and rhyolite. It is the extrusive equivalent of those plutonic rocks that are intermediate in composition between monzogranite and granodiorite. Rhyodacites form from rapid ...
and dacite
Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...
overlapping domes. These domes formed in a long series of eruptions from 110,000 to 57,000 years ago, building a volcano that reaches in elevation.
The Mono–Inyo Craters
The Mono–Inyo Craters are a volcanic chain of craters, domes and lava flows in Mono County, Eastern California. The chain stretches from the northwest shore of Mono Lake to the south of Mammoth Mountain. The Mono Lake Volcanic Field forms the ...
are a -long volcanic chain situated along a narrow, north–south-trending fissure system extending along the western rim of the caldera from Mammoth Mountain to the north shore of Mono Lake. The Mono-Inyo Craters erupted from 40,000 to 600 years ago, from a magma source separate from the Long Valley Caldera.
The caldera has an extensive hydrothermal
Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water (Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, ''water'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with th ...
system. Casa Diablo Hot Springs
Casa Diablo Hot Springs is a hot springs and active geothermal location, near Mammoth Lakes and the Eastern Sierra Nevada, in Mono County, eastern California.
Geography
It is within the northern part of the Long Valley Caldera volcanic featur ...
at the base of the resurgent dome hosts a geothermal power plant
Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 2 ...
. Hot Creek cuts into part of the resurgent dome and passes through hot springs. The warm water of Hot Creek supports many trout, and is used at the Hot Creek Fish Hatchery. The creek was closed to swimming in 2006 after geothermal activity in the area increased. There are a number of other hot springs in the area, some of which are open to bathers.
Geology
Caldera
The tectonic causes of the Long Valley volcanism are still largely unexplained and are therefore a matter of much ongoing research. Long Valley is not above a hotspot, such as those which fuel the Yellowstone Caldera
The Yellowstone Caldera, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano, is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the Western United States. The caldera and most of the park are located in the northwest corn ...
or the volcanoes of Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
; nor is it the result of subduction
Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the ...
such as that which produces the volcanism of the Cascades.
The known volcanic history of the Long Valley Caldera area started a few million years ago when magma began to collect several miles below the surface. Volcanic activity became concentrated in the vicinity of the present site of Long Valley Caldera 3.1 to 2.5 million years ago with eruptions of rhyodacite
Rhyodacite is a volcanic rock intermediate in composition between dacite and rhyolite. It is the extrusive equivalent of those plutonic rocks that are intermediate in composition between monzogranite and granodiorite. Rhyodacites form from rapid ...
followed by high-silica rhyolite from 2.1 to 0.8 million years ago. After some time, a cluster of mostly rhyolitic
Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...
volcanoes formed in the area. All told, about were covered by lava.
All but one of these volcanoes, 1–2 million year old Glass Mountain (made of obsidian
Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock.
Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...
), were destroyed by the major ( volcanic explosivity index (VEI) 7) eruption of the area 760,000 years ago, which released of material from vents just inside the margin of the caldera. (The 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption was a VEI-5 eruption releasing .) About half of this material was ejected in a series of pyroclastic flow
A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of bu ...
s of a very hot () mixture of noxious gas, pumice
Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular vol ...
, and volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...
that covered the surrounding area hundreds of feet deep. One lobe of this material moved south into Owens Valley
Owens Valley (Numic
Numic is a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It includes seven languages spoken by Native American peoples traditionally living in the Great Basin, Colorado River basin, Snake River basin, and southern Great Pl ...
, past present-day Big Pine, California
Big Pine (formerly, Bigpine) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Inyo County, California, United States. Big Pine is located approximately south-southeast of Bishop, at an elevation of . The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census, up from 1,35 ...
. Another lobe moved west over the crest of the Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
and into the drainage 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 ...
. The rest of the pyroclastic material, along with of other matter, was blown as far as into the air where winds distributed it as far away as eastern Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
and Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
.
The eruption initially produced a caldera deep. However, much of the ejecta went straight up, fell down, and filled the initial caldera about two-thirds full.
Eruptions
Subsequent eruptions from the Long Valley magma chamber were confined within the caldera with extrusions of relatively hot (crystal-free) rhyolite 700,000 to 600,000 years ago as the caldera floor was uplifted to form the resurgent dome followed by extrusions of cooler, crystal-rich moat rhyolite at 200,000-year intervals (500,000, 300,000, and 100,000 years ago) in clockwise succession around the dome.[ The declining volcanic activity and increasingly crystalline lava extruded over the last 650,000 years, as well as other trends, suggest that the magma reservoir under the caldera has now largely crystallized and is unlikely to produce large-scale eruptions in the future.]
The Long Valley volcano is unusual in that it has produced eruptions of both basaltic
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 ...
and silicic
Silicic is an adjective to describe magma or igneous rock rich in silica. The amount of silica that constitutes a silicic rock is usually defined as at least 63 percent. Granite and rhyolite are the most common silicic rocks.
Silicic is the group ...
lava in the same geological place.
Water from the Owens River
The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 17, 2011, It drains into and through the ...
filled the caldera to a depth of as of 600,000 years ago. At that time, the lake surface was at an elevation near . The lake drained sometime in the last 100,000 years after it overtopped the southern rim of the caldera, eroded the sill, and created the Owens River Gorge
The Owens River Gorge is a steep 10 mi (16 km) canyon on the upper Owens River in eastern California in the United States. The canyon is located at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains in southern Mono County, along the stre ...
. A human-made dam in the gorge has created Lake Crowley
Crowley Lake is a reservoir on the upper Owens River in southern Mono County, California, in the United States. Crowley Lake is south of Mammoth Lakes.
The lake was created in 1941 by the building of the Long Valley Dam by the Los Angeles Depar ...
, a partial restoration of the original lake. Since the great eruption, many hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
s developed in the area, and the resurgent dome has uplifted.
During the last ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
, glaciers filled the canyons leading to Long Valley, but the valley floor was clear of ice. Excellent examples of terminal moraine
A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...
s can be seen at Long Valley. Laurel Creek
Laurel Creek is a river in Delaware County, New York. It flows into the Roods Creek
Roods Creek is a river in Delaware County, New York. It begins just south of Cannonsville Reservoir and flows south into Crystal Lake. After exiting Crystal Lak ...
, Convict Creek, and McGee Creek each have prominent moraines.
Recent activity
In May 1980, a strong earthquake swarm that included four Richter magnitude
The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
6 earthquakes struck the southern margin of the Long Valley Caldera. It was associated with a dome-shaped uplift of the caldera floor. These events marked the onset of the latest period of caldera unrest that is ongoing. This ongoing unrest includes recurring earthquake swarms and continued dome-shaped uplift of the central section of the caldera accompanied by changes in thermal springs and gas emissions. After the quake, another road was created as an escape route. Its name at first was proposed as the "Mammoth Escape Route" but was changed to the Mammoth Scenic Loop after Mammoth area businesses and land owners complained.
In 1982, the United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
under the Volcano Hazards Program The Volcano Hazards Program is a program directed by the USGS that monitors the activity of volcanoes and the public awareness of eruptions. Under the mandate of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act), the ...
began an intensive effort to monitor and study geologic unrest in Long Valley Caldera. The goal is to provide residents and civil authorities with reliable information on the nature of the potential hazards posed by this unrest and timely warning of an impending volcanic eruption, should it develop. Most, perhaps all, volcanic eruptions are preceded and accompanied by geophysical and geochemical changes in the volcanic system. Common precursory indicators of volcanic activity include increased seismicity, ground deformation
Ground may refer to:
Geology
* Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water
* Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth
Electricity
* Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...
, and variations in the nature and rate of gas emissions.
Hydrothermal system
The Long Valley Caldera hosts an active hydrothermal system that includes hot springs, fumarole
A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...
s (steam vents), and mineral deposits. Hot springs exist primarily in the eastern half of the caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
where land-surface elevations are relatively low; fumaroles exist primarily in the western half where elevations are higher. Mineral deposits from thermal activity are found on an uplifted area called the resurgent dome, at Little Hot Creek
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Little (album), ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
*Little (film), ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's nov ...
springs, Hot Creek Gorge
Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to:
Food and drink
*Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality
*Hot, a wine tasting descriptor
Places
* Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand
**Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...
, and other locations in the south and east moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
s of the caldera.
Hot springs discharge primarily in Hot Creek Gorge, along Little Hot Creek
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Little (album), ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
*Little (film), ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's nov ...
, and in the Alkali Lakes area. The largest springs are in Hot Creek Gorge where about per second of thermal water discharge and account for about 80% of the total thermal water discharge in the caldera. At the other extreme are springs at Hot Creek Fish Hatchery
Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to:
Food and drink
*Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality
*Hot, a wine tasting descriptor
Places
* Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand
**Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...
which contain a small component (2–5%) of thermal water that raises water temperatures about higher than background temperatures. Use of the warm spring water in the hatchery
A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish, poultry or even turtles. It may be used for ex-situ conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered species under controlled condit ...
has increased fish production because trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
growth rates are faster in the warm water than in ambient stream temperatures in Long Valley.
In hydrothermal systems the circulation of groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...
is driven by a combination of topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
and heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
sources. In Long Valley Caldera, the system is recharged primarily from snow
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
-melt in the highlands around the western and southern rims of the caldera. The water from snow-melt and rainfall infiltrates to depths of a few kilometers (miles) where it is heated to at least by hot rock near geologically young intrusions. Upflow occurs in the west moat where the heated water with lower density rises along steeply inclined fractures to depths of . This hydrothermal fluid flows laterally, down the hydraulic gradient, from the west to the southeast around the resurgent dome and then eastward to discharge points along Hot Creek and around Crowley Lake
Crowley Lake is a reservoir on the upper Owens River in southern Mono County, California, in the United States. Crowley Lake is south of Mammoth Lakes.
The lake was created in 1941 by the building of the Long Valley Dam by the Los Angeles Depa ...
. Reservoir temperatures in the volcanic fill decline from near the Inyo Craters to near Crowley Lake due to a combination of heat loss and mixing with cold water.
Hot Creek has been a popular swimming hole for decades. Over a dozen people have died in Hot Creek since the late 1960s, but most of these deaths happened to people who ignored the numerous warning signs and attempted to use the hydrothermal pools as hot tubs (like the stream portion of the creek, these pools alternate in temperature but the eruptions in the pools are of super-heated water in already very hot water). Recent geothermal instability has led to its temporary closure for swimming. Officials are unsure of when (if ever) Hot Creek will officially reopen for swimming.
Hydrothermal activity has altered many rocks in the caldera, transforming them into travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...
and clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
. At the Huntley clay mine
Huntley may refer to:
Places Australia
*Huntley, New South Wales (Orange), in City of Orange
*Huntley, New South Wales (Wollongong), a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales
Canada
*Huntley, Prince Edward Island
*Huntley Township, Ontario
Engla ...
white chalky clay called kaolinite
Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...
is mined; the kaolinite is exposed on the resurgent dome and appears as a brilliant white band.
Tourism and hiking
The largest tourist attraction in the caldera is the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is a large ski resort in the western United States, located in eastern California along the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the Inyo National Forest.
Mammoth has more than of ski-able terrain, serviced ...
: the area offers skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
and snowboarding
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
in the winter, and mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
in the summer. The Hot Creek tourist attraction was closed to swimming in 2006 due to increased geothermal activity.
Hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
and off-road vehicle
An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with dee ...
driving is available throughout the caldera, and in the glacial valleys of the Sherwin Range, immediately to the south of the caldera. Hikers can hike to several lakes in these glacial valleys, including Valentine Lake, Convict Lake
Convict Lake (Mono: ''Wit-sa-nap'') is a lake located in Mono County, California, United States, situated in the Sherwin Range of the Sierra Nevada. It is known for its turquoise-blue water, the dramatic mountains (including Mount Morrison) ...
, Lake Dorothy
Lake Dorothy is a lake in King County, Washington. First labeled on Oliver Phelps Anderson's "New Map of the County of King, State of Washington, 1894"; the name was bestowed by Anderson for his daughter Dorothy Louise Anderson (1893-1912), a mem ...
, and Laurel Lakes. Crowley Lake
Crowley Lake is a reservoir on the upper Owens River in southern Mono County, California, in the United States. Crowley Lake is south of Mammoth Lakes.
The lake was created in 1941 by the building of the Long Valley Dam by the Los Angeles Depa ...
, at the south end of the caldera, is noted for its fishing.
The nearest hotel accommodations to the caldera are in Mammoth Lakes, California
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 ...
. There are also campgrounds scattered throughout the caldera, and in the mountains near the edge of the caldera.
Fatalities
In April 2006, three members of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area ski patrol died while on duty. All three died from suffocation by carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
when they fell into a fumarole
A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...
on the slopes of the mountain while attempting to fence it off.
See also
*
* Glass Mountain
* Map of Long Valley-Mono area
*Mono–Inyo Craters
The Mono–Inyo Craters are a volcanic chain of craters, domes and lava flows in Mono County, Eastern California. The chain stretches from the northwest shore of Mono Lake to the south of Mammoth Mountain. The Mono Lake Volcanic Field forms the ...
*Mammoth Geothermal Complex
The Mammoth Geothermal Complex is a complex of 3 geothermal power stations located at Casa Diablo Hot Springs about east of Mammoth Lakes, California. The complex is owned by Ormat and operated by its subsidiary Mammoth Pacific.
Description
Th ...
- a geothermal power plant in the area
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
USGS website for the Long Valley Caldera
*
{{Authority control
Complex volcanoes
Supervolcanoes
Pleistocene calderas
Valleys of California
Volcanoes of Mono County, California
VEI-7 volcanoes
Calderas of California
Volcanic fields of the Great Basin section
Volcanic fields of California
Inyo National Forest
Pleistocene California
Pleistocene North America
Hot springs of California