What's There Now

Sáttítla Highlands National Monument

So much to see, but almost all of it is God made, not man made, so don't expect buildings. Just craters such as Giant Crater, Pumice Crater (used by NASA to train its astronauts), Paint Pot Crater, and more. Spatter cones. Cinder cones, over one hundred. Glass Mountain, fifteen minute drive from the campgrounds mentioned below, Little Glass Mountain, and the Burnt Lava Flow Geologic Area. And then there are the lava flows; from Giant Crater itself, they stretch thirty miles. At the recreation area, there is camping, boating, fishing and swimming at a designated sand beach, plus mountain biking trails.

Lodging and Camping

There is no lodging within Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, but some can be found in the towns surrounding Siskiyou County, but not lots. Your best bet is McLoud with three hotels and a number of bed and breakfasts or lodges. There are campgrounds in the Medicine Lake Recreation Area, all formerly part of Modoc National Forest. They are at high elevation, 6,770 feet, but have sites amid large lodgepole pines. It can be windy here and the season is short, July 1 to October 1. There is a hiking trail from here to the Medicine Lake Lava Flow.

As of now, this area has four campgrounds; Medicine, A.H. Hogue, Hemlock and Headquarters Campgrounds. There are vault toileets and water hydrants. Recreational vehicles can fit in nineteen of the spaces. Fifteen of the seventy-five can be reserved in advance. These campsites are forty-eight miles from McLoud. There may be others within Sáttítla Highlands that were part of other National Forests, but the current website is a bit shy on that information.

Photo above: Snowmobiling in the National Monument. Courtesy United States Forest Service/Thomas Stansberry.

History of Medicine Lake Volcano

Even though dormant, and considered young due to its last eruption only nine hundred to three thousand years ago, it has been a remarkably active volcanic area through the history of earth. There have been five stages of volcanic activity at the site. Stage One - Started half a million years ago and lasted until three hundred thousand years ago. Stage Two - Sixty-nine of the eruptions occurred during this period, 300 ka to ~180 ka. Yeh, I know, what does ka mean to geologists? About one thousand years in time. Stage Three - Known as the period of Caldera-rim construction (~180 ka to 100 ka), the eighty eruptions were predominantly basalt in type. Stage 4 - Its name, Big Basalts (<100 ka to ~13 ka) were fewer in number, twenty-four, but much larger, covering nearly half of the entire Medicine Lake Volcano area.

Stage Five runs from (~12.5 ka to the present). This is the postglacial period. It is thought that seventeen eruptions have happened during this stage, about one to two per century. A large amount of the area was created during the Giant Crater eruption after the end of the glacial period. It is thought to have occurred during the stress put on the land by the melting of the glacial ice, causing a pressure release. Eight thousand years after that, three eruptions occurred during the period of 3,000 to 900 years ago. Wonder if it is due.

Photo above: Medicine Lake Highlands Volcanp, Giant Crater, with Lava Tubes. Courtesy United States Forest Service/Bob Wick.

Native American Heritage

A sacred home and ceremonial grounds have been part of the heritage of the Pit River Tribe, Modoc, Karuk, Klamath, Shasta, Siletz, Wintu, and Yana. To the Modoc, they consider Medicine Lake a place of healing, not only in its water but on the banks they call Laníshwi. There are eighty-five plant species in the area. These were used to create medicine, food, build tools, and dye clothes, using ichen.

The Pit River tribe was instrumental in gaining protection of the lands of the highlands, to prevent development, particularly in an area of such geothermal activity, and respect their heritage and sacred sites.

Photo above: Little Glass Mountain. Courtesy United States Forest Service/Bob Wick.