MEDICINE LAKE VOLCANO – WHAT TO EXPECT

Not your typical “volcano,” Medicine Lake Volcano is what’s known as a shield volcano, where the underlying rock has down warped under the center of the volcano, leaving its old caldera exposed as Medicine Lake. Rising 3,900 feet above the Modoc Plateau with 140 cubic miles of lava flows, it’s actually the largest volcano by volume in the Cascade Range, which also includes Mount Rainer and Mount Saint Helens. It is believed that the Medicine Lake volcano is unique, having many small magma chambers rather than one large one.

KEY POINTS

VIEW THE MAP