Lava Beds National Monument

Over the last half-million years, volcanic eruptions on the Medicine Lake shield volcano created an incredibly rugged landscape punctuated by cinder cones, lava flows, spatter cones, lava tube caves and pit craters. During the Modoc War of 1872-1873, the Modoc Indians used these lava flows to their advantage to hold off US Army forces numbering up to ten times their strength for five months. The historic battlegrounds of the Modoc War and the surrounding volcanic landscape are the primary reasons the Lava Beds were designated as a National Monument in 1925. These lava tube caves, of which there are more than 500 in the Monument, are a favorite underground destination for visitors to explore.