Ice Caves in Northern California

Abstract

A recent reading of Origin of Ice Caves by Harrington' has suggested to the writer that a brief description of certain caves in northern California may be of general interest, and that perhaps a slightly different emphasis in the explanation of the ice caves may be more satisfactory than the one given by the foregoing writer. The caves, which are simply porous basalt-lava tubes, are in northern California in Modoc and Siskiyou counties, in and near the Lava Beds National Monument. In this region there are about three hundred lava caves of various sizes, probably one-third of which contain water or ice, or both. The water, undoubtedly of meteoric origin, has percolated downward through the porous basalt and migrated to the lower levels of the caves. If the lower ends of the lava tubes are sealed, so that the water is prevented from seeping away, a sufficient quantity may collect to be converted into ice. Most of the ice caves in northern California are considerably larger than Shoshone Cave described by Harrington,2 and for this reason the ice may have a different origin. Individual caves will be described to show that the angle of the sun's rays, thought to be a factor by Harrington,3 could not play a uniformly important part in the formation of the ice. The influence of the angle of the sun's rays on caves facing north would be in contrast to that on caves facing