Bulletin of the National Speleological Society - ISSN 0146-9517
Volume 21 Part 2: 55-66 - July 1959

A publication of the National Speleological Society

The Land of the Burnt Out Fires: Lava Beds National Monument, California
Raymond G. Knox

Abstract

Lava Beds National Monument encompasses part of the largest pseudokarst area in the United States. In its 46,238 acres are 293 lava tubes and caves. The tubes are up to 98 feet in diameter, and up to a mile long; several are multilevel. Floors of the large tubes have uniform slope; many have a rough clinker floor. Access to the tubes is through collapse sinks. Seven major caves in the monument contain ice that lasts throughout the year. Pleistocene fossils as well as archeological material have been recovered from the caves. Historically the lava fields are known as the site of the Modoc Indian war 1872-1873 when the Indians made use of the pseudokarst features for strong defense emplacements.

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