Sulfur Works 2
The Sulfur Works area is a really small portion of Lassen Volcanic National Park but is so intriguing that I want to continue with it for another post.
Sulfur Works is at least a mile long and maybe half a mile wide with the road running through the lower (downhill) end. It's not the only thermal feature in the park, but the only one I visited. I'll go back.
As you can see, much the primary focus for the whole park is in it's trees. Incredible Alpine ecosystem throughout the whole park but here we are concentrating on a relatively narrow band of thermal activity known as Sulfur Works.
Below the road is a steep slope that is vegetation free due to the chemicals that just ooze out of the ground. This is very high snow area that gets at least 22 feet (7 meters) each year so there is lots of water washing down this slope when the snow melts each spring.
There is another mud pot and a couple of vents below the road. Center of this frame you can catch a glimpse of the creek in the bottom of the canyon, a perfect delineation between the naked slope and the inevitable trees of the rest of the park.
You can see here how the pots form. The slope collapses into the liquid and it ejects the silt downstream. This is another very active mud pot, half way between the road and the creek.
Notice the tracks in the lower center of the frame? Some people obviously go over the fence and walk down to get a better look. Really bad idea, the ground is unstable at best.
Here you get a pretty good look at the margin between the bare slope and the mostly unaffected slope. The creek itself looks to be relatively free of vegetation and life, the sulfur and acid obviously take a toll. It doesn't look like it has to run too far to return to 'normal'
Here is another pot on the uphill side. You can see some of the trees and plainly see some of the damage from growing too close to the chemicals. I'm sure it is all net good for the flora but is pretty caustic in near proximity.
Detail of what appears to me to be a huge hunk of crystallized sulfur. I'm no geologist, but this seems a pretty impressive specimen.
Here is a hardy little pine growing in in the 'forbidden zone' near one of the pots. I'm sure it won't last long, but it certainly speaks to the tenacity of nature. In the next installment we will focus more on the flora of the park. See you then.
All photos and words in this post are mine. For better or worse
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Very interesting landscape, for me... We don't get sights like that here
How wonderful to see you my friend!
It's a seriously impressive place that I'd never been to. I'll go back with time to do some hiking. There was like nobody there when I was (I saw maybe 10 people in 6 hours) and I was really drawn to the place.
Thank you for stopping by and the Quarator vote. Very much appreciated!
Sometimes I see myself as the little pine. But I'm one of those people who left those footmarks. 🙂
I get that, I really do. Maybe 'grow where you are planted' is the motto there.
I've got some tree pictures from the park coming up. Some of them I can REALLY relate to.
Is the air sulfur laden and isn't it poisonous?
@azircon - can you weigh in on the impressiveness of size? :D
Impressive for sure. I haven’t visited bigtom in ages, apologies!
Lassen remains an impressive site for intermediate volcanic activity related to the now “gone”(subducted) farallon plate. What bigtom smells in the air is both elemental sulphur and hydrogen sulphide (h2s) gas. Both can kill ya, with prolonged exposure. But a little bit of it never hurt anyone! ;)
Good to see ya, Tom...after all you are my distant neighbor! Sorry for not visiting for ages!
This sounds like famous last words to me.
I have never spent time around volcanic sites, but I think it would be pretty interesting to get up close and personal.
Good to see you too. I always appreciate your expertise!
I got way up close and personal when Mt. St. Helens blew in 1980. We were a couple hundred miles down wind and got 6" of talcum fine ash. It was very sulfurous and there were some respiratory problems. That stuff was incredibly abrasive but very much a net good for our soil (I was farming at the time).
This is a bit different smell from what I recall...
It was abrasive because it had volcano glass mixed in it. Very fine and deadly mix.... that stuff can essentially cut through the metal part of jet engines... if gets in :)
I saw lots of the damage, I am/was also a mechanic. We lost one pickup motor on a rig an employee HAD to drive to work. I've never seen anything like how those cylinder walls were polished. My original plan was to leave the bore alone and just knurl the pistons to take up the 0.003 overbore. But I couldn't hone the cylinders so I had to take the block to a machinist to have it bored 0.010 over and put in new pistons.
We actually heated some of the ash with a big torch and produced glass beads. Sort of pretty green color.
The air smells, and there is no doubt some toxicity. But I suffered no ill effects from them even though this is up around 2000 meters.
Good choice of experts. He's not only good, he's local. Relatively.
Your photos are beautifully shot!
Thanks Janelle! Really appreciate it.
Interesting to see photography of these sulfur pots, have heard of them previously.
Cannot for the life of me remember which mine my brother was on with sulfur gas which is most unpleasant to smell.
No wonder nothing grows close up the acid levels must be high, not very clever for people to go closer to witness!
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 0/12)
The ground around the pots is often eaten away and people fall through. I looked up the park and the injuries and 2 people have been air lifted out with 3rd degree burns to their legs from falling through. Not good.
Scary chemical, burns, breathing it in, and eye damage, definitely think before going to close, surely the smell alone would put one off?
Crust surrounding is always deceptive, you never know the veins underfoot!
Always interesting to see from further afield, if it kills off trees why would people not think of what it would do to your lungs or sight, always amazing how silly humans are never observing warnings.
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Do not miss the last post from @hivebuzz:
Sulfur Works i will see it i go to Lassen Volcanic National Park I love nature and fresh air in wild forest that give a man sense of freedom
This was a fine continuation post from the previous. I'm glad you took the time to expand on these. The girls will get to see and read this as part of their lessons on Monday if not sooner. Keep up the great blogging!
Sult
Wow, that is pretty impressive. It is amazing how part of the park go be so green so close to the area where all of those chemicals are coming out. Leave it to people to not follow the rules. One day someone will get hurt and you know it won't be their fault at all :P Nice shots!