Cinder Cone is a strikingly symmetrical small crater formed of cinders and other volcanic products. It stands in a lava-field that has an area of about three square miles. Its base measures about two thousand feet in diameter, its truncated cone seven hundred and fifty feet, and it is about six hundred and fifty feet high. Its well-preserved crater is two hundred and forty feet deep and is nicely funnel-shaped.
The Indians of the region had a popular tradition of the intense activity of this cone about three centuries ago. This tradition was that for a long time the sky was black with ashes and smoke. Thousands of acres of forest were buried or smothered. The world appeared to be coming to an end. But finally the sun appeared, red as blood. The sky cleared, and volcanic activity ceased.
A number of the hot springs are agitated almost enough to be called geysers. Cold and mineral springs abound. There are a number of lively streams and plunging waterfalls.
The lake-area is twenty-three hundred acres. The largest of the lakes is Lake Bidwell. Cinder Cone stands between two lakes which appear to have been formerly one. The eruption of this cone probably extended a lava-flow across the lake, dividing it into two parts. An outpouring of volcanic material apparently made a dam, which formed a reservoir, now occupied by Stump Lake. This filled with water and drowned a forest growth. Through the surface of this lake still thrust numerous tree-trunks of the drowned forest. The outburst of Cinder Cone that formed this lake and overwhelmed the forest probably took place nearly two hundred years ago. Other lakes are Juniper, Tilman, and Manzanita Lakes.
The greater portion of the Park is forested. Among the more common species of trees are Jeffrey pine, red fir, mountain hemlock, lodge-pole pine, white fir, and incense cedar. In places among the forests are beautiful mountain meadows.
There are scores of varieties of wild flowers. Most of these grow under favorable conditions; have warmth, moisture, and rich soil; and they show bright, clean blossoms. The district has its full share of bird and animal life. In a number of streams fish are plentiful.
The Lassen Volcanic National Park was created chiefly through the efforts of Congressmen John E. Raker and William Kent.
The varied objects of interest in this Park, especially those associated with topography and geology, make it not only a place with curious features, but a region affording unusual opportunities for the gathering of fundamental facts concerning our resources. Here also are scenes to inspire the souls of such as can be moved by the beauty and grandeur of Nature and by the awful manifestations of her power.
Says J. S. Diller, of the United States Geological Survey, "With its comfortably active volcano, inviting cinder cones and lava fields, vigorously boiling hot springs, mud lakes and 'mush pots' for the vulcanologist to study, and the glaciated divides and cañons for the physiographer, in a setting of lovely scenery and attractive camps, for the tourists all easily accessible, the Lassen Peak region affords one of the most alluring and instructive spots for a National Park."