Fish Lake is an ephemeral lake on the western side of the Cascade Range crest that fills with water (seen here after spring snow-melt) but dries up during the summer. The lake formed when the Fish Lake lava flow from Nash Crater of the Sand Mountain volcanic field dammed local drainages. This flow and the Lava Lake flow from scoria cones at the northern half of the chain were both extruded about 3,850 radiocarbon years ago.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).

This image is made available under the Public Domain Dedication CC0 license, but proper attribution is appreciated.

Keywords: environmental impact

Sand Mountain Field