Mount Konocti is a
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
in
Lake County,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
on the south shore of
Clear Lake. At , it is the second highest peak in the
Clear Lake Volcanic Field
The Clear Lake Volcanic Field is a volcanic field beside Clear Lake in California's northern Coast Ranges. The site of late-Pliocene to early Holocene activity, the volcanic field consists of lava domes, cinder cones, and maars with eruptive p ...
, which consists of numerous volcanic domes and cones ranging from 10,000 to 2.1 million years old. Although it is often described as
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
, it is actually classified as ''High Threat Potential''.
Clear Lake Volcanic Field's alert level is currently classified as ''Normal''.
Geography
![Mount Konocti on the western shore of Clear Lake, California](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Mount_Konocti_on_the_western_shore_of_Clear_Lake%2C_California.jpg)
The volcano is the most visible landmark in
Lake County other than the lake. The mountain is located between the towns of
Lakeport and
Clearlake. It lies directly south of
Soda Bay and
Riviera Heights and east of
Kelseyville
Kelseyville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, California, United States. Kelseyville is located southeast of Lakeport, at an elevation of . The population was 3,353 at the 2010 census, up from 2,928 at the 2000 census.
Etymo ...
.
Konocti Harbor and Soda Bay sit at the base of the mountain. From the summit of Mount Konocti, the taller peaks and ridges around
Snow Mountain There are various mountains called Snow Mountain in the United States:
See also
* Snow Mountain Wilderness, California
* Mount Snow, Vermont, United States
* Snow Peak (disambiguation)
* Ice Mountain (disam ...
can be seen to the northeast.
Mount Konocti has five distinctive peaks: Wright Peak (), Howard Peak (), South Peak (), Buckingham Peak () and Clark Peak (). Wright Peak, Howard Peak, and South Peak make up the main part of the mountain, while Buckingham Peak and Clark Peak are located off to the side. Konocti Road runs about west from the Taylor Planetarium & Observatory in the town of Kelseyville, snaking between Howard and South Peaks and ending at the mountain's summit, Wright Peak.
Benson Ridge lies to the south of Clark Peak and west of South Peak. Buckingham Peak lies north of Howard and Wright Peaks and northeast of Clark Peak. South Peak is directly south of Howard Peak and southwest of Wright Peak. Wright Peak lies east and a little north of Howard Peak.
History
Mount Konocti probably first erupted some 350,000 years ago and last erupted 11,000 years ago. Mount Konocti has an explosive, eruptive history with devastating lava flows ending about 13,000 years ago that formed the mountains from
Clearlake Oaks
Clearlake Oaks is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, California, United States. It is located on the northeast of Clear Lake, 8 miles (13.8 km) northwest of the town of Clearlake, at an elevation of 1,335 feet (407 m). The pop ...
to
Ukiah, all of which now are covered by trees making the ancient flows hard to find.
Clear Lake is much older and is possibly the oldest securely dated lake in North America. Core samples taken by
U.S. 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, and ...
geologists in 1973 and 1980 have been dated to 480,000 years.
Archaeologists have found evidence that native people, principally
Pomo people
The Pomo are an Indigenous people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point. One small grou ...
and
Wappo
The Wappo (endonym: ''Micewal'') are an indigenous people of northern California. Their traditional homelands are in Napa Valley, the south shore of Clear Lake, Alexander Valley, and Russian River valley. They are distantly related to the Yuki ...
, have inhabited the area around Konocti for as much as 11,000 years. The name "Konocti" is derived from the Pomo "kno", mountain, and "htai", woman.
The mountain is covered with heavy concentrations of
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
similar to the European
maquis shrubland
220px, Low maquis in Corsica
220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia
( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; hr, makija; ; ) is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs.
Maquis is char ...
.
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
Pacific madrone
''Arbutus menziesii'' or Pacific madrone (commonly madrone or madrona in the United States and arbutus in Canada), is a species of broadleaf evergreen tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the western coastal areas of North America, from Bri ...
,
manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus ''Arctostaphylos''. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from Southern British Columbia and Washington to Or ...
,
western white pine
Western white pine (''Pinus monticola''), also called silver pine and California mountain pine, is a species of pine in the family Pinaceae. It occurs in mountain ranges of northwestern North America. It is the state tree of Idaho.
Description ...
and other plant species of the California coastal mountains dominate the area. On the northeast slope of Mount Konocti is a steep, heavily forested area known locally as the "Black Forest", because it never gets direct sunshine. The Black Forest contains heavy stands of
Douglas fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
.
Local people have long known that Konocti is riddled with natural
caves
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
. Although most of the natural caves collapsed or were filled in for safety in the early 20th century, persistent local belief holds that Konocti's central
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 ...
chamber is a vast, empty vertical cavern, partly filled with Clear Lake water and connecting with the lake via an underground seep. This cavern might be the largest on Earth, though its existence is difficult to prove due to the unstable and eroding structure of the volcano's cone. Heavy vegetation also conceals cave entrances. No accurate map or survey of the caves has been created due to the heavy underbrush and unstable hillsides. The majority of Konocti is owned by private parties, who have discouraged exploration and study of the mountain in recent years. The County of Lake recently purchased 1,520 acres on top of the mountain. As a result, Mt. Konocti County Park opened to the public on September 24, 2011.
Pomo legend has it that around the year 1818, after a long drought, the level of Clear Lake dropped so low that a previously unknown cave on the eastern flank of Konocti was exposed. A group of Pomo men entered the cave, and discovered a vast underground lake, containing "blind fish". Repeated attempts by divers to locate this cave have been unsuccessful.
Although the peak of Konocti was owned privately for a long time, it was acquired by Lake County in 2009. It is now called the ''Mount Konocti County Park'', and is open to the public.
[http://www.konoctitrails.com/trails-information/mt-konocti-regional-park Mount Konocti County Park]
Geological status
The
U.S. 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, and ...
classifies the Clear Lake Volcanic Field, of which Mount Konocti is the most prominent volcano, as ''High Threat Potential''.
References
Further reading
*
* Article about Clear Lake and Mt. Konocti
* Extensive article about the Clear Lake area
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konocti, Mount
Stratovolcanoes of the United States
Mountains of Lake County, California
Volcanoes of California
Native American mythology of California
Locations in Native American mythology