The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway is a

scenic highway A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoint ...

and

All-American Road A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

s of

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 ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It is roughly long and travels north–south along the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

past numerous

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 ...

es. It is composed of two separate

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

s, the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon and Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - California. The latter also wholly includes the Lassen Scenic Byway.Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway web site
/ref>

Route description

Oregon section

Starting at

U.S. Route 97 U.S. Route 97 (US 97) is a major north–south route of the United States Numbered Highway System in the Pacific Northwest region. It runs for approximately through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, primarily serving in ...

south of Chemult, the byway heads west on

Oregon Route 138 Oregon Route 138 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the city of Elkton and a junction with U.S. Route 97 at Diamond Lake Junction. The highway has several distinct stretches, and is the main east–west highway through Roseburg, ...

before turning south on

Oregon Route 209 In the U.S. state of Oregon, there are two systems for categorizing roads in the state highway system: named state highways and numbered state routes. Named highways, such as the Pacific Highway No. 1 or the North Umpqua Highway East No. 138, ...

into

Crater Lake National Park Crater Lake National Park is an American national park located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake is the fifth-oldest national park in the United States and the only national park in Oregon. The park encompasses the caldera of ...

, where Crater Lake fills 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 ...

of the destroyed

Mount Mazama Mount Mazama (''Giiwas'' in the Native American language Klamath language, Klamath) is a complex volcano in the state of Oregon, United States, in a segment of the Cascade Volcanoes, Cascade Volcanic Arc and Cascade Range. Most of the mountai ...

volcano. The byway includes ''Rim Drive'' which circumnavigates the lake. South of Crater Lake, the byway continues down

Oregon Route 62 Oregon Route 62 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the city of Medford, and U.S. Route 97 between Chiloquin and Klamath Falls. The highway approaches Crater Lake National Park from the south, and is known as the Crater Lake Highway. W ...

, with Mount Scott on the east, to Fort Klamath, whereupon it heads west on ''Weed Road'' to ''Sevenmile Road'', then south on ''West Side Road'' along the edge of the

Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge The Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge in southwestern Klamath County on the shores of Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon. It was established in 1928 and contains some of freshwater marshes. It is accessible only by boat from ...

and

Upper Klamath Lake Upper Klamath Lake (sometimes called Klamath Lake) ( Klamath: ?ews, "lake" ) is a large, shallow freshwater lake east of the Cascade Range in south-central Oregon in the United States. The largest body of fresh water by surface area in Oregon, it ...

. The byway then passes

Mount McLoughlin Mount McLoughlin is a dormant steep-sided stratovolcano, or composite volcano, in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon and within the United States Sky Lakes Wilderness. It is one of the volcanic peaks in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, within the Hi ...

on the east as it joins

Oregon Route 140 Oregon Route 140 (OR 140) is a state highway in southern Oregon, United States. It is the longest state highway in Oregon, running from the community of White City, Oregon (just north of Medford), through Klamath Falls and on to Lakeview. It ...

Klamath Falls Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...

. From there, the route proceeds southwards on US 97, between Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge and

Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge The Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States on the border between California and Oregon. It is operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge was designated a National Histori ...

to the California border. Image:Crater Lake 2.jpg, Crater Lake Image:RossGeese Oregon.jpg, Ross' geese at

Image:Mount McLoughlin aerial.jpg,

California section

Just south of the border, north of the town of Dorris, California, a

spur route A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, Interstate Highway, or motorway. A bypass or beltway should not be considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the s ...

heads east on

State Route 161 The following highways are numbered 161: Canada * New Brunswick Route 161 * Prince Edward Island Route 161 * Quebec Route 161 Costa Rica * National Route 161 India * National Highway 161 Ireland * R161 road (Ireland) Japan * Japan Nat ...

and south on Route 139 to

Tulelake Tulelake ( ) is a city in northeastern Siskiyou County, California, United States. The town is named after nearby Tule Lake. Its population is 902 as of the 2020 census, down from 1,010 from the 2010 census. Tulelake peace officers are authori ...

. This section then turns west through the town along ''E Street/East West Road'', then south down ''Hill Road'' through the

Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge The Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States in northern California near the Oregon border. It covers in the Tule Lake basin. It is part of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and is ...

on the western shore of

Tule Lake Tule Lake ( ) is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon. Geography Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River. The elevat ...

, an area of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s and

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es, which greatly contrast with the harsh landscape of the

Lava Beds National Monument Lava Beds National Monument is located in northeastern California, in Siskiyou and Modoc counties. The monument lies on the northeastern flank of Medicine Lake Volcano and has the largest total area covered by a volcano in the Cascade Range. ...

, just ahead. The monument lies on the northeast flank of the

Medicine Lake Volcano Medicine Lake Volcano is a large shield volcano in northeastern California about northeast of Mount Shasta. The volcano is located in a zone of east-west crustal extension east of the main axis of the Cascade Volcanoes, Cascade Volcanic Arc ...

, the largest volcano (total area covered) in the Cascades. The main byway continues south on US 97 around

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of , it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades ...

, the second-tallest volcano in the contiguous US, to the city of

Weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

, which is marked by a large totem pole that stands off of the intersection of Hwy 97 and Weed Blvd. Along Hwy 97 just north of Weed is Pluto's Cave, a collapsed lava tube that individuals can explore on their own. It then briefly joins

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

, passing Black Butte, before heading east on Route 89 in the city of

and heads on out to McCloud. Besides volcanoes, the byway passes near a number of

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s. The ''McCloud River Falls'' are north of

Lake McCloud Lake McCloud is a reservoir on the McCloud River in Northern California.McCloud. McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park is further along Route 89 at

Lake Britton Lake Britton is a reservoir located in Shasta County, California. It is known for its wide variety of bass and trout. Its main body is situated to the west of State Route 89, and is mostly surrounded by PG&E Land, Forest Service Land, and McArt ...

. Passing by a number of smaller volcanoes, Burney Mountain and Sugarloaf Peak, the byway makes its way south where it circles

Lassen Peak Lassen Peak ( ), commonly referred to as Mount Lassen, is a lava dome volcano and the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range of the Western United States. Located in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, it is part of the ...

. At Route 44, the byway heads southeast to Route 36, where it turns west. There is also a bypass along Route 147 and Route 89 around

Lake Almanor Lake Almanor is a large reservoir in northwestern Plumas County, northeastern California, United States. The reservoir has a capacity of and a maximum depth of about 90 feet (27 meters). It is formed by Canyon Dam on the North Fork of the Feather ...

, rejoining Route 36 in the town of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. The byway continues along Routes 36/89 and follows Route 89 after they split through

Lassen Volcanic National Park Lassen Volcanic National Park is an American national park in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest lava dome, plug dome volcano in the world and the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range. L ...

. On the other side of the park, Route 89 joins Route 44 eastward, returning to the starting point of the loop. This loop itself is designated the Lassen Scenic Byway. Image:McArthurBurneyFallsStatePark.jpg,

Burney Falls Burney Falls is a waterfall on Burney Creek, within McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, in Shasta County, California. The water comes from underground springs above and at the falls, which are 129 feet high, and provides an almost consta ...

Image:LakeBritton(CA).jpg,

Image:MtShasta SnowCapped.jpg,

Image:Weed CA.jpg,

Weed, California Weed is a city in Siskiyou County, California, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a total population of 2,862, down from 2,967 in 2010. There are several unincorporated communities adjacent to, or just outside, Weed proper, inclu ...

References

External links

Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway web site
{{Crater Lake State Scenic Highway System (California) Scenic highways in Oregon Volcanism of California Volcanism of Oregon Crater Lake National Park Roads in Lassen County, California Roads in Plumas County, California Roads in Siskiyou County, California Roads in Shasta County, California Roads in Tehama County, California Protected areas of Lassen County, California Protected areas of Plumas County, California Protected areas of Shasta County, California Transportation in Klamath County, Oregon All-American Roads Protected areas of Tehama County, California U.S. Route 97 Named highways in California

Route description

Oregon section

California section

See also

References

External links