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Eruption of Lassen Peak

May 30, 2020 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

105 year anniversary

Active Norcal interviewed Forrest Hopson, author of Geology of the Lassen Country, about the May 22, 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in honor of the 105th anniversary of that eruption.

Forrest Hopson joins Active NorCal to discuss the 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak.
Plinian eruption column of May 22, 1915, as viewed from Red Bluff about 45 miles southwest of the volcano. This eruption column rose to approximately 30,000 feet. Photograph by R.E. Stinson, courtesy of National Park Service.

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Lassen Country Hikes

December 18, 2019 by Backcountry Press 3 Comments

Updated Hiking Maps

The book’s trail guide showcases the geologic history of the Lassen country. We have selected hikes that provide examples of the Lassen Volcanic Center and regional geology. USGS 1:24,000 scale maps show the trails and parking locations. The guide is illustrated but watch for references to figures and tables in previous chapters. Also, important background information about the geology in each hiking guide is discussed.

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Bumpass Hell Trail

August 26, 2019 by Backcountry Press 2 Comments

Geology of the Lassen Country

Bumpass Hell Trail
Bumpass Hell Hike Map

The Bumpass Hell Trail is one of the most popular destinations in the Lassen Country. The trailhead is at the large parking area 0.25 mile (0.4 km) east of Lake Helen. The trail traverses the dacite of Bumpass Mountain for the majority of the hike. Also, note the well-preserved glacial polish and striae in the dacite alongside the first few hundred yards of the trail. They were created by the glacier that started from the Lake Helen cirque. At the viewpoint where the trail turns east, about 0.5 mile (0.8 km) from the trailhead, it crosses briefly into andesite of Mount Diller. Here a National Park Service trailside interpretive display shows a model of Brokeoff Volcano before erosion.

Trailhead: Bumpass Hell trailhead parking lot
Distance: 3.0 miles (4.8 km) round trip
Key Geologic Features: Hot springs, clay-altered bedrock

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Lassen Geology

April 28, 2019 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

The Earth is not always quiet. An isolated region of northeast California offers a land of boiling springs, steaming sulfur vents, mud pots, and volcanoes. The boisterous geology of the southern Cascades is defined by Lassen Volcanic National Park. A complex and compelling geologic story is told in The Geology of the Lassen Country, a new book by R. Forrest Hopson and Michael A. Clynne.

June 14, 1914 phreatic eruption of Lassen Peak from near Manzanita Lake. Photograph by B.F. Loomis, courtesy of National Park Service.
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File this under “Rocks of the Klamath Mountains File this under “Rocks of the Klamath Mountains Rockhounds Think Are Neat-o”
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(AKA: a selection of rocks Mark Bailey found in the Klamath Mountains and featured in his Geology webinar—Part 3 of the series—last Thursday.)
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1. Diorite with unusually large crystals (top), Tonalite (left), Granodiorite (right)
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2. Diabase
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3. Schist
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4. Marble
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5. Serpentinite (California’s state rock!)
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6. Skarn
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7. Phyllite
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8. Greenstone
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Missed the live broadcast? You can catch the recording for any past session at LINK IN PROFILE. When you sign up we email you the link to view archived sessions.
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This Thursday catch Part 4: Climate of the Klamath Mountains and hear the story of December 1982: the most rain to fall in California recorded history!
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#rockhound #staterock #serpentinite #geologyrocks #klamathmountains #distancelearning
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https://backcountrypress.com/klamath/webinar-series/
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#exploregon #ashland #mountshasta #humboldt #pnw #pdx #geologist #geology #shasta #williamsor #applegatevalley #cavejunction #rogueriver #medford #grantspass #yreka #etnaca #trinitycounty #trinityalps #siskiyoucounty #siskiyou #crescentcityca #gasquet #arcata
Bring it! #atmosphericriver #7dayforecast . 5” t Bring it!
#atmosphericriver #7dayforecast
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5” to 10” of rain over the next 7 days in #NorCal!
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And what does this mean for the California mountains? ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
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How much ❄️? That depends on temperature.
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I’m sure you’ve heard the old refrain that 1” of rain = 10” of snow.
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Sometimes this is true: when the temperature hovers around 30°F.
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If temps are a bit warmer, the ratio is more like 5-to-1.
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And if it’s colder? Loads more fluffy, dry snow. At 20°F the ratio is more like 20-to-1!
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Interested in learning more about the dynamic variation of regional microclimates across the Klamath Mountains of NW California and SW Oregon? How about paleoclimate regimes, how those have shifted to what we have today, and what the future may hold?
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Check our Part 4 of our winter webinar series this Thursday: “Climate of the Klamath Mountains” with Rosemary Sherriff.
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You can join on for any session or the whole series—and recordings of all sessions you missed are ready for you to stream.
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Tap LINK IN PROFILE to find your way there!
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#climate #klamathmountains #distancelearning
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#california #letitrain #letitsnow #northerncalifornia #humboldt #humboldtcounty #trinitycounty #shasta #mountshasta #mtshasta #ashland #mtashland #delnortecounty #siskiyoucounty #trinityalps #pnw #pnwonderland #leftcoast #upperleftusa
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https://backcountrypress.com/klamath/webinar-series/
It’s complicated ⛰ Luckily we have an incredib It’s complicated ⛰ Luckily we have an incredible tour guide to hike us through it!
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Part 3: Geology of the Klamath Mountains with Mark Bailey is Thursday at 7pm PT
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Join for any or all sessions in this 10-Part series on the Natural History of the Klamath Mountains.
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Tap LINK IN PROFILE to find your way there. Hope to see you in the Zoom-o-sphere!
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#geologicmap #klamathmountains #itscomplicated
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#geology #geologyrocks #geologist #northerncalifornia #southernoregon #exploregon #shastacounty #mountshasta #ashland #ashlandoregon #medfordoregon #medford #humboldt #humboldtcounty #trinitycounty #siskiyoucounty #delnortecounty #trinityalps #wilderness
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https://backcountrypress.com/klamath/webinar-series/
“Loved it. I don't know how Instagram knew to se “Loved it. I don't know how Instagram knew to serve me the ad for this series, but I turned to my wife during the presentation and said "these are my people."”
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YES!
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It’s an anonymous comment like that that makes all the hard work of piecing together this 10 part webinar series on the Natural History of the Klamath Mountains entirely worth it.
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I’m so glad we found each other, whoever you are! 😆
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This week is Part 2: Fire in the Klamath Mountains with Jeff Kane (with Part 3: Geology next week!).
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Here’s a plant well adapted to life with fire in the Klamath: beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax) is quick to regenerate on open serpentine slopes after a burn.
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Join us each Thursday through March 11 if you like at 7pm. All sessions are recorded so you can catch up on any you’ve missed!
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Tap LINK IN PROFILE to find your way there.
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#thesearemypeople #beargrass #fireecology #klamathmountains
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📷: @jefekane
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https://backcountrypress.com/klamath/webinar-series/
Next up in our Winter Webinar Series: Fire in the Next up in our Winter Webinar Series: Fire in the Klamath Mountains
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This session will be presented by Dr. Jeff Kane, Associate Professor of Fire Ecology and Fuels Management at @humboldtstate and Director of HSU’s Wildland Fire Lab.
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He shares these tidbits about fire in the Klamath to get us started:
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🔥 More than 80% of the area burned in the Klamath Mountains over the past 30 years was ignited by lightning
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🔥 Many plant species in the Klamath are adapted to fire, enhancing flowering, seed release, and germination
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🔥 Fire scars on trees tell the story of frequent fire in the Klamath, with many forests historically burning every 15 years
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🔥 Smoke-filled valleys during a fire cools water temperatures in fish-bearing streams and rivers of the Klamath
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Tap LINK IN PROFILE if you’d like to join us at 7pm on 1/14. All sessions will be recorded in case you can’t make the live broadcast.
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📷: @jefekane
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#fireecology #rxburn #oakwoodland #wildfire #klamathmountains #klamathknot
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https://backcountrypress.com/klamath/webinar-series/
Did you catch @justin.garwood ‘s tour of the Kla Did you catch @justin.garwood ‘s tour of the Klamath Mountains’ last glacier yesterday evening?!
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What did you think?
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WOW sums it up for me.
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(Thank you, Justin, and your research team! Incredible documentation work.)
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If you missed it, the recording will be posted Saturday!
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Already getting excited for Part 2: Fire in the Klamath Mountains with @jefekane next Thursday.
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Tap LINK IN PROFILE for all the details.
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#glacier #thisisscience #klamathmountains #trinityalps #webinarseries
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https://backcountrypress.com/klamath/webinar-series/
The Klamath Mountains webinar series kicks off Thu The Klamath Mountains webinar series kicks off Thursday evening and we’re feeling as excited as a . . .
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western forest scorpion in a rotting ponderosa log . . .
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or perhaps a checkerspot in a wildflower meadow. 
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Hope you can join us!
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Friendly reminder that we’re donating class passes to anyone who does education, restoration, or community building work in the Klamath Mountain region. Hit us up!
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Pre-registration is required. Tap LINK IN PROFILE to find your way there.
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#yesthereareforestscorpions
#klamathmountains #naturalhistory
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📷: Ken DeCamp
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https://backcountrypress.com/klamath/webinar-series/
Hey you! What’s that green stuff growing on thos Hey you! What’s that green stuff growing on those rocks?!?
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Look a little more closely... it’s not all moss.
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You may be looking at liverworts!
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The most simple way to tell the difference between a moss and a leafy liverwort:
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Most leafy liverworts will have leaves that attach to their stems in a flattened, 2D fashion.
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On the contrary, most mosses have leaves that spiral around the stem.
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#ancientplants #themoreyouknow🌈 #liverwort #moss #bryophyte #botany #botanist #plantidentification #pnw #pnwonderland #redwoodforest #redwoods
Cheers to the New Year! May 2021 be a bright one f Cheers to the New Year! May 2021 be a bright one for us all, and our planet!
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Since we could certainly all use a bit more fun in our lives, it was recommended to us that each session in the Klamath Mountains Natural History winter webinar series (which begins 1/7!) feature its own pairing -- food and/or bev.
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Brilliant. And why not. Thank you @salmonriveroutpost For the suggestion!
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I present to you the Glaciertini: a fine drink to accompany the first session in this 10-part series where Justin Garwood will tell the story of the Klamath Mountains' Last "tini" Glacier. 
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It also happens to be the signature cocktail of his research team. Per his and colleague Mike van Hattem's instructions:
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1. When setting out on your expedition, allow olives (3 per serving) to slosh marinate in vermouth over a 10 mile hike.
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2. Chill vodka, olives, and cup (titanium preferred) in a 34 degree glacier melt stream for 4 hours.
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3. Combine and sip responsibly on a chunk of granite while taking in a hard earned, grand alpine view.
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Granite Lake (as pictured above) in the Trinity Alps is an ideal location to experience a Glaciertini.
📷: Mike van Hattem
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Fun facts about the Klamath's Last Glacier:
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The ice beetle, Nebria praedicta, lives here and nowhere else on Earth!
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American pipits forage for insects on Grizzly Glacier.
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Grizzly Glacier is the lowest elevation glacier in the US south of the Olympic Peninsula.
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It's so cool on the slopes below Grizzly Glacier that spring flowering alpine shooting star (Primula tetrandra) do not bloom until September!
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There’s still time to sign up. Tap LINK IN PROFILE for the details.
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#glaciertini #trinityalps #klamathmountains
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#glacier #backpacking #naturalhistory #trinitycounty #humboldt #humboldtcounty #southernoregon #norcal #northerncalifornia #pnw #pnwonderland #pnwlife #ashland #ashlandoregon #wilderness #wildernessculture #pdx #corvallis #eugeneoregon #exploremore #optoutside #martini #backpackinglife #traillife #mountshasta #siskiyoucounty #shasta 
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https://backcountrypress.com/klamath/webinar-series/
> > > name needed < < < How shall we refer to this > > > name needed < < <
How shall we refer to this burly being? Have any ideas? We’d love to hear them!
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Our littlest suggested “Fred” but I don’t think it quite fits 🤔
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Will pick our fave from the comments and send you a free copy of “Conifer Country,” truly our first born and the book that started Backcountry Press.
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This old growth tree spirit/goblin/jester greets us each time along our favorite hike to do with our *actual* kids in tow: Hike #4 in Conifer Country.
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It was great to give a nice Hello to this being yesterday along the 4 mile loop through the majestic ancients! 🌲🌲🌲
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#redwoodforest #burl #oldgrowth #conifercountry #hikinghumboldt
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#redwoods #conifers #californianativeplants #humboldt #humboldtcounty #howihumboldt #redwoodcoast #theradwoodcoast #redwoodnationalpark #redwoodnationalandstateparks #prairiecreekredwoodsstatepark #delnortecounty #familyhike #optoutside #exploremore #treemagic #treespirit #bigtrees #treesofinstagram #forestspirit #forestmagic #pnwonderland
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https://backcountrypress.com/book/conifer-country/
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Manzanita’s center of biodiversity is in the California Floristic Province, where they are the “rock stars” of woody shrub diversity. Ranging from the Sierra Nevada mountains to coastal bluffs along the Pacific, from temperate rainforests along the North Coast to arid mountain slopes in Southern California, a wealth of manzanita species and subspecies can be […]

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