Devils Postpile National Monument

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The Devils Postpile National Monument
Devils Postpile National Monument near Mammoth Lakes.jpg
Basalt columns of Devils Postpile
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Location Madera County, California, United States
Nearest city Mammoth Lakes, CA
Coordinates 37°37′28″N119°5′4″W / 37.62444°N 119.08444°W / 37.62444; -119.08444
Area798 acres (323 ha) [1]
CreatedJuly 6, 1911 (1911-July-06)
Visitors109,571(in 2017) [2]
Governing body National Park Service
Website Devils Postpile National Monument

Devils Postpile National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located near Mammoth Mountain in Eastern California. The monument protects Devils Postpile, an unusual rock formation of columnar basalt, "all closely and perfectly fitted together like a vast mosaic." [3] The monument encompasses 798 acres (323 ha) and includes two main attractions: the Devils Postpile formation and Rainbow Falls, a waterfall on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River. In addition, the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail merge into one trail as they pass through the monument. [4] Excluding a small developed area containing the monument headquarters, visitor center and a campground, the National Monument lies within the borders of the Ansel Adams Wilderness. [5]

Contents

History

Rainbow Falls at Devils Postpile National Monument Rainbow Falls Devils Postpile.jpg
Rainbow Falls at Devils Postpile National Monument

The monument was established in 1911 as "Devil Postpile National Monument," (no possessive) [6] but is widely referred to as Devils Postpile National Monument, [7] and has been officially styled as plural without the apostrophe since the 1930s.

An alternate historic name was Devil's Woodpile. According to Historic Spots in California (1966), "In every scenic freak the sheep-herder recognizes the work of his Satanic majesty. This formation is therefore known to local fame as the Devil's Woodpile." [3]

The monument was once part of Yosemite National Park, but discovery of gold in 1905 near Mammoth Lakes prompted a boundary change that left the Postpile on adjacent public land. [8] Later, a proposal to build a hydroelectric dam called for blasting the Postpile into the river. Influential Californians, including John Muir, persuaded the federal government to stop the demolition and, in 1911, President William Howard Taft protected the area as a National Monument. [8]

Flora and fauna

The elevation of the national monument is between 7,200 and 8,200 ft (2,200 and 2,500 m), and the flora and fauna are typical of the western Sierra Nevada at these elevations. [9] The monument area contains animals and plants such as black bears, pine martens, mule deer, coyotes, [10] quaking aspen, black cottonwood, alder, and willows, [11] Dark-eyed juncos and white-crowned sparrows are common in the summer. [12]

Native wildflowers include: [13]

Access

The most common method for accessing Devils Postpile is via the mandatory shuttle bus operated by Eastern Sierra Transit Authority in the summer months, [14] followed by a 1/4 mile walk. The shuttle route begins at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area's Adventure Center and makes several stops throughout the valley and begins operating when the Reds Meadow Road opens in the summer, and continues through Labor Day weekend.

Devils Postpile is also accessible on foot from Mammoth Lakes by hiking over Mammoth Pass and into the Reds Meadow Valley. During the winter months, there are no services available, but adventurers can visit the site via cross-country ski or snowshoe. [15]

Devils Postpile

The tops of the postpile columns are accessible to visitors. The shapes of the column cross sections are seen clearly here. California, Devils Postpile National Monument, columns top.jpg
The tops of the postpile columns are accessible to visitors. The shapes of the column cross sections are seen clearly here.

The name "Devils Postpile" refers to a dark cliff of columnar basalt. Radiometric dating indicates the formation was created by a lava flow at some time less than 100,000 years ago. [16] The source of the lava is thought to have been somewhere near Upper Soda Springs campground at the north end of Pumice Flat on the floor of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River, from where it flowed to the site of the Postpile. Estimates of the formation's thickness range from 400 feet (120 m) to 600 feet (180 m). The lava that now makes up the Postpile was near the bottom of this mass. [16]

Because of its great thickness, much of the mass of pooled lava cooled slowly and evenly, which is why the columns are so long and so symmetrical. Columnar jointing occurs when certain types of lava contract while cooling.

A glacier later removed much of this mass of rock and left a polished surface on top of the columns with very noticeable glacial striations and glacial polish. [16]

The Postpile's columns average 2 feet (0.61 m) in diameter ("The columns vary in size from ten to 30 inches in diameter." [3] ), the largest being 3.5 feet (1.1 m), and many are up to 60 feet (18 m) long.

Together they look like tall posts stacked in a pile, hence the feature's name. If the lava had cooled perfectly evenly, all of the columns would be expected to be hexagonal, but some of the columns have different polygonal cross-sections due to variations in cooling. A survey of 400 of the Postpile's columns found that 44.5% were 6-sided, 37.5% 5-sided, 9.5% 4-sided, 8.0% 7-sided, and 0.5% 3-sided. [16] Compared with other examples of columnar jointing, the Postpile has more hexagonal columns. Another feature that places the Postpile in a special category is the lack of horizontal jointing.

Similar structures

Top of columnar basalt shows polygonal shapes Devils Postpile pentagon.jpg
Top of columnar basalt shows polygonal shapes

Although the basaltic columns are impressive, they are not unique. Basalt columns are a common volcanic feature, and they occur on many scales (faster cooling produces smaller columns). Other notable sites include Svartifoss in Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland, Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, Fingal's Cave in Scotland, Titan's Piazza of the Mount Holyoke Range in Massachusetts, the Garni Gorge in Armenia, the Cyclopean Isles near Sicily, Sheepeater Cliff at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Basaltic Prisms of Santa María Regla in Huasca de Ocampo, Mexico, the Organ Pipes formation on Mount Cargill in New Zealand, Gilbert Hill in Mumbai, Organ Pipes National Park in Australia and the Column Cape (Russian: Mis Stolbchaty) on Kunashir Island, the southernmost of the Kuril Islands, Cerro Colorado and Mar Brava (Ancud) in Chile. Columnar basalt can also be seen in a high desert dry river falls area just north of Lajitas, Texas. The much more massive Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming is superficially similar but consists of a phonolite porphyry, formed by the intrusion of igneous rock. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansel Adams Wilderness</span> Protected wilderness area in California, United States

The Ansel Adams Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada of California, United States. The wilderness spans 231,533 acres (93,698 ha); 33.9% of the territory lies in the Inyo National Forest, 65.8% is in the Sierra National Forest, and the remaining 0.3% covers nearly all of Devils Postpile National Monument. Yosemite National Park lies to the north and northwest, while the John Muir Wilderness lies to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lava Beds National Monument</span> National monument in California, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lassen Volcanic National Park</span> National park in California, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Muir Wilderness</span> Protected area in the Sierra Nevada of California, US

The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California for 90 miles (140 km), in the Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist John Muir, it encompasses 652,793 acres (2,641.76 km2). The wilderness lies along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra from near Mammoth Lakes and Devils Postpile National Monument in the north, to Cottonwood Pass near Mount Whitney in the south. The wilderness area also spans the Sierra crest north of Kings Canyon National Park, and extends on the west side of the park down to the Monarch Wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert Hill</span>

Gilbert Hill is a 200 ft (61 m) monolith column of black basalt rock at Andheri, in Mumbai, India. The rock has a sheer vertical face and was formed when molten lava was squeezed out of the Earth's clefts during the Mesozoic Era about 66 million years ago. During that era, molten lava had spread around most of the Indian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, covering an area of 50,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi). The volcanic eruptions were also responsible for the destruction of plant and animal life during that era. According to experts, this rare geological phenomenon was the remnant of a ridge and had clusters of vertical columns in nearby Jogeshwari which were quarried off two decades ago. These vertical columns are similar to the Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, and the Devils Postpile National Monument in eastern California, USA. Gilbert Hill was declared a National Park in 1952 by the Central Government under the Forest Act. In 2007, after years of lobbying by geologists, the hill was declared a Grade II heritage structure by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), and all quarrying and other activities around the monument were prohibited. Over the period of time, Gilbert Hill has faced severe erosion problems too.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Devils Postpile</span> Rock formation in California

Little Devils Postpile is a columnar basalt rock formation in the Sierra Nevada, located within Yosemite National Park and eastern Tuolumne County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trap rock</span> Dark-colored, fine-grained, non-granitic igneous rock

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columnar jointing</span> Polygonal stone columns

Columnar jointing is a geological structure where sets of intersecting closely spaced fractures, referred to as joints, result in the formation of a regular array of polygonal prisms, or columns. Columnar jointing occurs in many types of igneous rocks and forms as the rock cools and contracts. Columnar jointing can occur in cooling lava flows and ashflow tuffs (ignimbrites), as well as in some shallow intrusions. Columnar jointing also occurs rarely in sedimentary rocks, due to a combination of dissolution and reprecipitation of interstitial minerals by hot, hydrothermal fluids and the expansion and contraction of the rock unit, both resulting from the presence of a nearby magmatic intrusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minaret Summit</span> Mountain in the American state of California

Minaret Summit is a mountain pass on Highway 203 in the central Sierra Nevada. The pass, lying on the Madera-Mono County border, is within the Mammoth Ranger District of the Inyo National Forest and located near Devils Postpile National Monument, Mammoth Lakes, and Mammoth Mountain. The elevation of the pass is about 9,265 ft (2,824 m). Highway 203 ends at Minaret Summit. The road continues, now called Reds Meadow Road, until its dead end at the Reds Meadow Pack Station near the Rainbow Falls trailhead.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lions Fire</span>

The Lions Fire was a wildfire in the Ansel Adams Wilderness in Inyo National Forest and the Sierra National Forest in California in the United States. The fire was started by a lightning strike and first reported on June 11, 2018. The fire impacted recreational activities in both national forests, as well as access to Devils Postpile National Monument. The Lions Fire burned a total of 13,347 acres (54 km2), before burning out on October 1.

The protected areas of the Sierra Nevada, a major mountain range located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, are numerous and highly diverse. Like the mountain range itself, these areas span hundreds of miles along the length of the range, and over 14,000 feet of elevation from the lowest foothills to the summit of Mount Whitney.

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Iron Mountain is an 11,149-foot-elevation (3,398 meter) summit located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Madera County of northern California, United States. It is situated in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, on the boundary shared by Inyo National Forest with Sierra National Forest. It is set at the south end of the Ritter Range, approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of the community of Mammoth Lakes. Devils Postpile National Monument is 4.5 miles to the east and the Minarets are three miles to the north. Precipitation runoff from the west side of this mountain drains to North Fork San Joaquin River, and from the east slope to the Middle Fork San Joaquin. Topographic relief is significant as the east aspect rises over 2,000 feet above Anona Lake in approximately one mile. There are climbing routes to the summit via the south slope and east face, and inclusion on the Sierra Peaks Section peakbagging list generates climbing interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volcanic Ridge</span> Metavolcanic ridge in the American state of California

Volcanic Ridge is an 11,486-foot-elevation (3,501 meter) ridge located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Madera County of northern California, United States. It is situated in the Ansel Adams Wilderness on land managed by Inyo National Forest. It is set in the Ritter Range, 1.9 miles (3.1 km) southeast of Mount Ritter, and approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of the community of Mammoth Lakes. The Minarets are one mile to the west and Devils Postpile National Monument is five miles to the southeast. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises over 1,700 feet above Iceberg Lake in approximately one-half mile.

References

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  2. "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
  3. 1 2 3 Hoover, Mildred Brooke; Rensch, Hero Eugene; Rensch, Ethel Grace; Abeloe, William N. (revision) (1966). Historic Spots in California (3rd ed.). Stanford University Press. p. 170.
  4. "Visitor Guide to Devils Postpile and the Reds Meadow Valley, 2011-2012" (PDF). National Forest Service/National Park Service. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  5. "Ansel Adams Wilderness acreage breakdown". Wilderness.net. Archived from the original on 2012-07-01.
  6. States, United (1911). "A Proclamation". Statutes of the United States of America. Archived from the original on 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  7. "Devil Postpile National Monument". Sierra Club Bulletin – Vol. 8. 1912. Archived from the original on 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
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  9. "Nature & Science". Devils Postpile. Archived from the original on 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  10. "Animals". Devils Postpile. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2010-07-25. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  11. "Plants". Devils Postpile. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2010-07-25. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  12. Grossi, Mark. "Devils Postpile National Monument". Longstreet Highroad Guide to the California Sierra Nevada. Sherpa Guides. Archived from the original on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  13. "Native Plants, Non-native Plants, and Invasive Species". Devils Postpile. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2022-07-07. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  14. "Reds Meadow/Devils Postpile Shuttle Information". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  15. "Devils Postpile". Visit California. 29 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Devils Postpile National Park Geologic Story". USGS/National Park Service. January 2, 2000. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  17. Bassett, WA (1961). "Potassium-Argon Age of Devils Tower, Wyoming". Science. 134 (3487): 1373–3. Bibcode:1961Sci...134.1373B. doi:10.1126/science.134.3487.1373. PMID   17807346. S2CID   3101604.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service .

Bibliography