Last updated: July 20, 2025
Place
Fractured Land
Fractured Land
Lava Beds National Monument is situated between two regions— the Cascade Range and its volcanoes to the west, and the Great Basin to the east. From this vantage point, you have an excellent view of the broad Tulelake Basin and Gillem Bluff, also called Sheepy Ridge (below). These features are the result of a geologic process called extension. Extension stretches the earth’s crust, developing parallel faults resulting in a succession of peaks and valleys, also referred to as horsts and grabens. This topography, called “Basin and Range,” spans Nevada and much of the Southwestern United States. Lava erupting through these weaknesses formed the Medicine Lake Shield Volcano.
The earth’s crust bulges up beneath the Great Basin like an inflating balloon, causing the surface to stretch and fracture.
Lava Beds National Monument is situated between two regions— the Cascade Range and its volcanoes to the west, and the Great Basin to the east. From this vantage point, you have an excellent view of the broad Tulelake Basin and Gillem Bluff, also called Sheepy Ridge (below). These features are the result of a geologic process called extension. Extension stretches the earth’s crust, developing parallel faults resulting in a succession of peaks and valleys, also referred to as horsts and grabens. This topography, called “Basin and Range,” spans Nevada and much of the Southwestern United States. Lava erupting through these weaknesses formed the Medicine Lake Shield Volcano.
The earth’s crust bulges up beneath the Great Basin like an inflating balloon, causing the surface to stretch and fracture.