United States Destinations

Taking a Pacific Northwest caves and volcano tour

By Sandy Campbell

Most readers will know of Crater Lake in southern Oregon. It is a “must see” destination on many family road trips. However, Crater Lake is just one spectacular point in a large volcanic landscape that covers much of central and southern Oregon, southern Washington and northern California.

South of Bend, in Central Oregon, Highway 97 crosses Newberry National Volcanic Monument, a long narrow volcanic outflow that stretches some 25 miles southeast to Newberry Volcano.

At the visitors’ centre, you can drive the spiral road right to the top of Lava Butte, a small volcano, and look down into the caldera. Of course it is long dead and covered with vegetation. From the top of the butte, as far as you can see the landscape is dotted with cinder-cones of various sizes. These are all small volcanoes. There are about 400 cinder-cones in Deschutes National Forest in which Newberry is located.

An eight-mile drive east of Highway 97 leads to Lava Cast Forest. Here lava over-ran a forest about 7000 years ago. The lava cooled around standing and fallen trees forming molds of the tree trunks.

Another highlight of this area is Newberry Caldera with its two small lakes. An interpreter told us proudly that while Crater Lake had one lake, their park had two. Both Paulina Lake and East Lake have the remarkable blue colour that is characteristic of Crater Lake.

To the south of Paulina Lake is the Big Obsidian flow. At 1,300 years old this is the youngest lava flow in Oregon. The lava here is black, shiny and glass-like and was used by indigenous people to make arrow-heads and spears.

The lava flow ends abruptly in a large mound, several stories high. Looking up we could see the large chunks of shiny rock and knew that it was all once molten, consuming everything in its path.

South of Klamath Falls, Oregon we followed the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway to Lava Beds National Monument in northeastern California. This route led us through Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and alongside the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, both huge wetland areas, teeming with birds.

Lava Beds National Monument is rough country. There are buttes and lava flows and scrub vegetation that tries to grow among the rocks. While the road in passes through land so harsh that it is called “The Devil’s Homestead,” for the cave enthusiast, this is a playground. In this area there are about 600 lava tube caves.

Lava tubes are formed when a flowing river of lava crusts over on the top, forming an arched roof over the flow. The hotter centre part of the flow continues to drain out, leaving an empty tube. Most lava tubes are long, narrow and have a characteristic arched roof. While the floors are usually rough, the walls and roof are often relatively smooth. They do not have the stalactites and stalagmites that we usually think of as quintessential cave formations. There are some larger rooms or chambers and some formations caused by earth movement and collapse.

There are 19 caves open and listed on the map at Lava Beds. The interpreters pointed out five caves that were closed because bats were rearing young in them. Ten of the caves are less strenuous and suitable for children. Only one of these, Mushpot, has lights and interpretive signs. For the rest, you can borrow flashlights from the Interpretive Centre, and make your way though on your own. They take your licence plate number and vehicle make and model so that they know who they are looking for if you get lost and don’t turn in the flashlights on time.

From Lava Beds we headed west over Grant’s Pass to see Oregon Caves National Monument.

Oregon Caves is a solution cave system, or one in which water has dissolved and eroded away the rock. It is much more spectacular than the lava tubes. It is much more accessible as well, so it is very busy. While tours were only listed a few times each day, in fact, they were being run every fifteen minutes, with about an hour wait. The guided tour is about an hour and a half long and is moderately strenuous. You have to be able to walk up at least 20 steps in succession. There is an outlet about half-way through the tour, and an older participant on our tour left at that point, having found it just too strenuous.

The most amazing chamber in this cave is called Paradise Lost. It is an optional 96 steps to a narrow but high conical chamber that is covered in exquisite flowstone formations.

After a quick trip to see the 2,000 year-old redwoods at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, we made our way north along the Oregon coast to Florence, to see the Sea Lions Cave.

There are many small sea caves along the coast, but Sea Lions is the world’s largest sea cave. The cave is privately owned and a reasonable $10 is charged for admission.

An elevator took us two hundred feet down to a side cavern that serves as an observation deck to see the Steller’s Sea Lions. The chamber is quite large and opens to the sea. In the back of the cave are rocks where we could see about 40 sea lions resting.

The cave is also home to Brandt’s Cormorants and Pigeon Guillemonts. Interpretive videos and panels provide background information on the sea lions and the cave. From a lookout at the top we were also able to see California Grey Whales.

Heading home to Canada, Mount Saint Helens, north of Portland, is a final “must see.” Many of us remember the 1980 eruption that killed 57 people. The mountain has continued to be intermittently active right up to early 2008.

It is possible to climb Mount St. Helens, but it is a strenuous seven to 12-hour trek recommended for only the very fit. For those of us who prefer to enjoy the volcano from afar, the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center, just east of Castle Rock, does an excellent job of explaining the eruption and the developments since that time.

If you go:

Klamath Falls, Oregon
www.ci.klamath-falls.or.us

Lava Beds National Monument
www.nps.gov/labe

Newberry National Volcanic Monument
www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/newberrynvm/index.shtml

Oregon Caves National Monument
www.nps.gov/orca

Sea Lions Cave
www.sealioncaves.com

Climbing Mount St. Helens
www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation/mount-st-helens