Mount Lassen
June 10, 2003
Provided by: James Armstrong
Summary authors & editors: James Armstrong
Before the Mt. St. Helen's eruption in 1980, the last time a volcano erupted in the lower 48 states was 1917, at Mount Lassen in northern California. Rising to 10,457 ft (3,218 m), Mt. Lassen is the southern-most peak in the Cascades chain. On May 22, 1915, a pyroclastic flow erupted from Lassen's crater and destroyed everything in its path. The above picture is looking up at the summit of Lassen from what was the middle of the devastated area. Since that eruption, lush vegetation again covers the mountain flanks, but Lassen is an active volcano and in the future is certain to erupt again.
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