Hot Creek, Inyo National Forest
N 37° 39.649 W 118° 49.668
11S E 338780 N 4169754
A hot spring turning a cold river in to a toursit attraction
Waymark Code: WMNWC
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 08/29/2006
Views: 175
After enjoying all the hot spring in Yellowstone we found out we didn’t have to travel so far to stand inside an ancient volcano and enjoy its geothermal features! There is one in California that erupted 700,000 years ago and spread ash as far as Nebraska! What remains of this blast is a caldera just like Yellowstone (only smaller) and a region of fascinating geologic wonders; hot springs, fumaroles and craters.
The most popular of these features is Hot Creek Geological Site near Mammoth Lake, CA, which attracts up to 13,000 visitors per year. After visiting all the forbidding, hot, acidic sites in Wyoming, we were looking forward to a civilized hot spring in which one can actually swim and soak for a while. So, we brought our towels, only to find this:
A new geyser just popped up in the middle of the river and for the time being, the hot spring is closed for swimming. It will re-open as soon as as the geyser calmed down, but even just the countryside is worth a visit.