Obsidian Dome
We've driven by the sign for Obsidian Dome countless times on trips up and down US Highway 395. We finally took the short road and spent a couple of hours exploring -- well worth a side trip, and a place to return to in cooler weather for a longer hike.
Obsidian Dome is a mile-long 300 foot high lava dome that is part of the Mono–Inyo Craters volcanic chain located in the Inyo National Forest. The Dome is essentially a big pile of shiny black volcanic glass that was formed by an explosion (a Phreatic Blast) when magma reached the water table,turned the water to steam, cooled and then turned to rock. The eruption date for Obsidian Dome is one of the best constrained prehistoric eruption dates in the world. Using tree rings, geologists have found that the eruption occurred in late summer 1350 CE.
There is not a lot of color in the formations to the left of the trail, so I've converted to black and white. The shine is from the fractured rock turned to glass by the heat of the explosion -- also known as obsidian.
Hope you have a lovely day whenever you see this. Thanks, as always, for stopping by and for all of your kind comments -- I appreciate them all.
© Melissa Post 2015
All rights reserved. Please respect my copyright and do not copy, modify or download this image to blogs or other websites without obtaining my explicit written permission.
Obsidian Dome
We've driven by the sign for Obsidian Dome countless times on trips up and down US Highway 395. We finally took the short road and spent a couple of hours exploring -- well worth a side trip, and a place to return to in cooler weather for a longer hike.
Obsidian Dome is a mile-long 300 foot high lava dome that is part of the Mono–Inyo Craters volcanic chain located in the Inyo National Forest. The Dome is essentially a big pile of shiny black volcanic glass that was formed by an explosion (a Phreatic Blast) when magma reached the water table,turned the water to steam, cooled and then turned to rock. The eruption date for Obsidian Dome is one of the best constrained prehistoric eruption dates in the world. Using tree rings, geologists have found that the eruption occurred in late summer 1350 CE.
There is not a lot of color in the formations to the left of the trail, so I've converted to black and white. The shine is from the fractured rock turned to glass by the heat of the explosion -- also known as obsidian.
Hope you have a lovely day whenever you see this. Thanks, as always, for stopping by and for all of your kind comments -- I appreciate them all.
© Melissa Post 2015
All rights reserved. Please respect my copyright and do not copy, modify or download this image to blogs or other websites without obtaining my explicit written permission.