EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Chaos and the Forest

Chaos Crags, Lassen Volcanic National Park
California, USA

Explanation:  These two views -- at midday and sunset -- are of a remarkable geological formation wonderfully named Chaos Crags.  We are in the heart of Lassen Volcanic National Park in northeastern California, and are viewing a great lesson of how geomorphology can be the mother of ecology.

This is a geologically very young landscape.  The mountain we are looking at is made of pink dacite lava that arose volcanically merely a millennium ago, only to create a massive landslide that ran for two miles and covered all life below.

So what is this forest?  It is comprised of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), a mountain conifer that commonly occurs in rocky soil on disturbed sites.  

In other words, the chaos of the volcanism and subsequent landslide created a perfect bed for this pine to colonize, and thus the forest grew.  

Information:
     Heiken, G., and J.C. Eichelberger.  1980.  Eruptions at Chaos Crags, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California.  Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 7(3-4):443-481.