Type
Point of Interest
Location
41.7666°N 121.5483°W
Black Crater is a spatter cone in the northern part of Lava Beds, reached by a short spur trail. Tree molds, hollows left where lava surrounded standing trees, line the route.
Details
- Type
- Point of Interest
- Accessibility
- Limited accessibility
The spatter cone
Black Crater formed from a smaller, less explosive eruption in which semimolten rock piled up around the vent, building a lumpy mound rather than the loose cinders of a cinder cone. The vent here is fully plugged. The spur trail to it is about 0.3 mile.
Along the trail
Tree molds appear where flowing lava wrapped around living trees, hardened, and left cylindrical voids after the wood burned away. The area also carries Modoc War history, lying near the routes the Army used to approach the Modoc positions.