1 Day Four - Ubehebe Crater.
2 Garry explains the concept of a maar - a volcanic steam explosion created by magma coming into contact with groundwater.
3 Ubehebe's 700' deep crater is the largest maar in the complex and possibly one of the youngest volcanoes in California. Brand new research cosmogenically dated the rocks to just over 800 years of age. That's really young!
4 Steve and I braved the tephra trail down to the bottom.
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6 Getting down to Ubehebe crater was easy.
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8 How you doin?
9 Descent into Ubehebe.
10 Great mud cracks and sedimentation.
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12 Thick mud cracks.
13 Whose fault is this?
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15 This photo lends some perspective.
16 The view to the top... from 670' below.
17 The scale is quite nice with the folks on the little knobb.
18 Gotta love America. Home of the free and land of stating the obvious to stave-off litigations brought on by morons.
19 Watcha doin', Steve?
20 The black hills across the way are more basalt flows.
Day 4