The Sulfur Works area is a really small portion of Lassen Volcanic National Park but is so intriguing that I want to continue with it for another post.
Sulfur Works is at least a mile long and maybe half a mile wide with the road running through the lower (downhill) end. It's not the only thermal feature in the park, but the only one I visited. I'll go back.
As you can see, much the primary focus for the whole park is in it's trees. Incredible Alpine ecosystem throughout the whole park but here we are concentrating on a relatively narrow band of thermal activity known as Sulfur Works.
Below the road is a steep slope that is vegetation free due to the chemicals that just ooze out of the ground. This is very high snow area that gets at least 22 feet (7 meters) each year so there is lots of water washing down this slope when the snow melts each spring.
There is another mud pot and a couple of vents below the road. Center of this frame you can catch a glimpse of the creek in the bottom of the canyon, a perfect delineation between the naked slope and the inevitable trees of the rest of the park.
You can see here how the pots form. The slope collapses into the liquid and it ejects the silt downstream. This is another very active mud pot, half way between the road and the creek.
Notice the tracks in the lower center of the frame? Some people obviously go over the fence and walk down to get a better look. Really bad idea, the ground is unstable at best.
Here you get a pretty good look at the margin between the bare slope and the mostly unaffected slope. The creek itself looks to be relatively free of vegetation and life, the sulfur and acid obviously take a toll. It doesn't look like it has to run too far to return to 'normal'
Here is another pot on the uphill side. You can see some of the trees and plainly see some of the damage from growing too close to the chemicals. I'm sure it is all net good for the flora but is pretty caustic in near proximity.
Detail of what appears to me to be a huge hunk of crystallized sulfur. I'm no geologist, but this seems a pretty impressive specimen.
Here is a hardy little pine growing in in the 'forbidden zone' near one of the pots. I'm sure it won't last long, but it certainly speaks to the tenacity of nature. In the next installment we will focus more on the flora of the park. See you then.
All photos and words in this post are mine. For better or worse
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