• Lassen Peak from Hat Creek

    Lassen Volcanic

    National Park California

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The Lassen Volcanic National Park Photograph Archives

The Lassen Volcanic National Park Photograph Archives

Comprised of over 30 collections containing more than 6000 images, the LAVO photograph archives documents the natural and cultural history of Lassen Volcanic National Park (LAVO) and surrounding area.

Scope and Content

The LAVO Photograph Archives covers a wide range of subjects. Included are images of natural and man-made features, and park administrative activities, personnel, programs, and events. Detailed descriptions of collection materials are provided in collection guides.

Collection Guides (Finding Aids)

The LAVO Photograph collections are described and inventoried in detailed guides, also known as finding aids. Finding aids provide background information on the organization, person, or family who created or collected the photographs, an overview of the collection and its arrangement, and a detailed inventory. Finding aids help researchers to identify items of interest that may be retrieved for study.

Guides for the LAVO photograph collections are available here:

PH Coll 1
Title: B.F. Loomis Photograph Collection
Date Span: circa 1850s – 1940s
Scope and content: This collection contains Loomis’ famous Lassen Peak eruption photographs, Loomis family portraits, images of the Loomis lumber business and store, and other regional images.
PH Coll 2
Title: William S. Valentine Photograph Collection
Date Span: circa 1914-1915
Scope and content: This collection contains original Valentine photographs of Lassen Peak in eruption as well as other Lassen views. It also contains copies of images made by other photographers, including B.F. Loomis.


Access to collections

Collections are available for viewing by the public. Collections are housed in secure, non-browsing stacks, however, and cannot be checked out. Materials are retrieved for users upon request.

For questions about collections and access, contact:

Division of Natural and Cultural Resources
(530) 595-6180

Terms of Use

The LAVO photograph collections are generally open to the public. Contact the park for information regarding reproduction and publication.

For more information on use of park collections: Copyright of Archival Collections.

Did You Know?

picture of caldera inside cinder cone

All four types of volcanoes found in the entire world are represented in Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Volcanoes found in the park include shield (Prospect Peak), plug dome (Lassen Peak), Cinder Cone (Cinder Cone), and Composite (Brokeoff Volcano) volcanoes. More...