Crowley Lake Columns (Mono County, California)

The area just north of Bishop, CA, known as the volcanic tablelands, is full of geologic and cultural treasures and oddities. I've visited some of them in the past, but I decided to make extensive visit this weekend and check out a number of them. Driving down Friday evening, I was expecting to get a good night's sleep and an early start, but I got stopped at Bridgeport. From what I understand there as a head-on collision a few miles south that resulted in at least five fatalities and would require the highway to be closed until morning while the scene was being investigated. Rather than give up, I decided to take the long way around. I reached Bishop just after midnight, but at least I got there in once piece.

My first destination was 20-ish miles north of Bishop, on the shores of Crowley Lake. The lake is actually a reservoir completed in 1941. Shortly after completion, strange columns started becoming visible on the eastern shore. They were describes as section columns evenly spaced and connected by earthen archways supporting the land above. They looked almost man-made, but given the circumstances and location this seemed not only unlikely, but highly improbable. 

Just a couple of years ago, geologists finally solved the mystery. Apparently, the columns were the result of frigid water from melting snow seeping into hot ash from a recent volcanic eruption. After heating, the water rose as steam back through the same hole and as the ash cooled, the columns were formed.

Getting to the feature was a bit of a challenge, but thanks to preparing pretty solid directions and maps, and my trusty jeep, I was able to reach a clearing above the columns by means of some pretty rugged trails. 

From the clearing, I could see one set of the columns in the distance. I hiked my way down to the shoreline and was then able to examine the columns up close. They truly are an amazing site. Most of the stones littering the shoreline look to be the remains of broken columns, as they are disks of the same size and shape as though making up the columns. I explore the area a bit more including hiking over the hill to the next "beach" and set of columns, but eventually decided to turn back. I have a number of other sites to visit today, but this was definitely worth it.