Volcano Butte

Hello, this post will be about the Volcano Butte we visited.  It is a cinder cone about 1500 feet high.  Not very high.  I have always thought of volcanos as huge, high mountains like Mt. St. Helen's.  This was a little one, but quite interesting.  They figure that it blew 7,000 years ago.

This is the drive up the butte.  We rode in a bus to the top, no regular cars allowed.  BTW-this is a National Monument so we were able to get our passport book stamped.

This is looking down into the crater.

There was a little hill to walk up to this building.  A ranger works there regularly to greet visitors and to watch for forest fires.

Here we are looking down the hill.  I don't know why I was so fascinated by the tree on the edge.  There was red and black rocks from the blast.  See the guy in the orange shirt?

This is a distance view of mountains.

One side of the hill has rock that was blown out over the valley for miles.  

Looking up to the tower from the parking lot.  Notice the red side walk.  Roads were also red in this area.

Here we are at the bottom looking up to the butte.  You can't see the building on this side.  This is the blown side.

Here is a closeup of lava rocks.  There are also brown pine needles in the picture.

The blast went this far.  Very interesting to me that it looks like it just flowed so far and stopped.  Richard said this kind of volcano didn't have flow, just blew cinders this far and stopped like a wall.  Interesting.  

I was so excited to see a Yucca plant growing in my friends yard!  I wanted to get the leaves and make sandals!

Here's Leinen saying good bye for now.  We're going shopping here in Whitehorse.  Doesn't he look like he's talking?  What is Artie thinking and about to say?  I will be making a new post tonight, I hope.