Butte Lake (California)

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Butte Lake
Butte Lake California.jpg
Location Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen County, California
Coordinates 40°33′44″N121°17′23″W / 40.562108°N 121.289694°W / 40.562108; -121.289694 Coordinates: 40°33′44″N121°17′23″W / 40.562108°N 121.289694°W / 40.562108; -121.289694
Type Lake
Primary inflows Butte Creek
Basin  countries United States
Surface elevation 1,845 m (6,053 ft)

Butte Lake is a lake located in the northeast section of Lassen Volcanic National Park in the U.S. state of California at an elevation of 6,053 ft (1,845 m).

Lake A body of relatively still water, in a basin surrounded by land

A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land, apart from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are also larger and deeper than ponds, though there are no official or scientific definitions. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. Most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams.

Lassen Volcanic National Park national park of the United States

Lassen Volcanic National Park is an American national park in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range. Lassen Volcanic National Park started as two separate national monuments designated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907: Cinder Cone National Monument and Lassen Peak National Monument.

California State of the United States of America

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 8.8 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.

Contents

Description

The irregularly-shaped lake lies at the northern end of Cinder Cone and the Fantastic Lava Beds, which is a complex of lava flows and a cinder cone. Some time in the mid-1770s the lava flow from the Cinder Cone flowed into and around the lake. [1] This formed an underwater lava field. Water from Snag Lake to the south flows through the porous lava field to Butte Lake. [2] Water from Butte Lake drains via Butte Creek, which flows north out of the parkland.

Cinder Cone and the Fantastic Lava Beds mountain in United States of America

Cinder Cone is a cinder cone volcano in Lassen Volcanic National Park, located in Redding, Northern California within the United States. It is located about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Lassen Peak and provides an excellent view of Brokeoff Mountain, Lassen Peak, and Chaos Crags.

Snag Lake lake in United States of America

Snag Lake is a lake located in the north eastern part of Lassen Volcanic National Park in California.

Butte Lake from Cinder Cone Butte Lake from Cinder Cone.jpeg
Butte Lake from Cinder Cone

Access

There is a campground and ranger station located to the west of the lake. Butte Lake is accessible via an unpaved road which branches off from California Route 44. The unpaved road is subject to seasonal closures.

California State Route 44 highway in California

State Route 44 is a state highway in the U.S. State of California that travels in an east–west direction from Redding to Lassen Volcanic National Park before ending at Route 36 west of Susanville. This final portion, between the park and its terminus, is part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Volcanic cone Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape

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Newberry National Volcanic Monument

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Mount Bachelor volcano

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Geology of the Lassen volcanic area

The geology of the Lassen volcanic area presents a record of sedimentation and volcanic activity in the area in and around Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California, U.S. The park is located in the southernmost part of the Cascade Mountain Range in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Pacific Oceanic tectonic plates have plunged below the North American Plate in this part of North America for hundreds of millions of years. Heat from these subducting plates has fed scores of volcanoes in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia over at least the past 30 million years and is also responsible for activities in the Lassen volcanic area.

Lassen Peak mountain

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Mount Jefferson (Oregon) stratovolcano in the Cascade Range, Oregon

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Boring Lava Field

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Lava Butte mountain

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Powell Butte mountain in United States of America

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Big Cave mountain in United States of America

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Olallie Butte mountain in United States of America

Olallie Butte is a steep-sided shield volcano in the Cascade Range of the northern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the largest volcano and highest point in the 50-mile (80 km) distance between Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson. Located just outside the Olallie Scenic Area, it is surrounded by more than 200 lakes and ponds fed by runoff, precipitation, and underground seepage, which are popular spots for fishing, boating, and swimming. The butte forms a prominent feature in the Mount Jefferson region and is usually covered with snow during the winter and spring seasons.

Cima Dome & Volcanic Field National Natural Landmark mountain in United States of America

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Davis Lake volcanic field

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Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field

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The Volcano (British Columbia) mountain in Canada

The Volcano, also known as Lava Fork volcano, is a small cinder cone in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located approximately 60 km (40 mi) northwest of the small community of Stewart near the head of Lava Fork. With a summit elevation of 1,656 m (5,433 ft) and a topographic prominence of 311 m (1,020 ft), it rises above the surrounding rugged landscape on a remote mountain ridge that represents the northern flank of a glaciated U-shaped valley.

Volcanic history of the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province

The volcanic history of the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province presents a record of volcanic activity in northwestern British Columbia, central Yukon and the U.S. state of easternmost Alaska. The volcanic activity lies in the northern part of the Western Cordillera of the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Extensional cracking of the North American Plate in this part of North America has existed for millions of years. Continuation of this continental rifting has fed scores of volcanoes throughout the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province over at least the past 20 million years and occasionally continued into geologically recent times.

References

  1. http://www.nps.gov/lavo/naturescience/volcanoes.htm
  2. Clynne, Michael A.; Champion, Duane E.; Trimble, Deborah A.; Hendley, James W., II; Stauffer, Peter H., How Old is "Cinder Cone"?–Solving a Mystery in Lassen Volcanic Park, California, United States Geological Survey, retrieved 2013-03-28