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Photo: 1914 eruption, from William Holmes Spaulding Photograph Collection: Photographic postcard of Lassen Peak in eruption.

When you hear the word volcano, where in the world do you think of? Mount Vesuvious in Italy? Mount Fuji in Japan? Maybe Cotopaxi in Ecuador? Do you ever think of Lassen Peak?
 
The National Park System is full of volcanoes. Some active, some dormant, some extinct. They all have fascinating stories to tell. 
 
There was a series of eruptions of Lassen Peak in Northern California between 1914 and 1917, with the 1915 eruption largely playing a role in the establishment of Lassen Volcanic National Park

Today we’re going to be discussing Lassen Peak and its volcanism along with Andy Calvert, the scientist-in-charge of the California Volcano Observatory, and Jessica Ball, the observatory’s volcano hazards and communication specialist. 

0:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
0:12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek
0:50 Big Country - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of Yellowstone
1:09 Friends of Acadia
1:35 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
1:57 Smokies Life
2:20 NPT Promo
2:36 Episode 288 - Lassen Peak's Volcanics
52:07 Yellowstone - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of Yellowstone
52:28 Episode Closing
53:07 Orange Tree Productions
53:39 Splitbeard Productions
53:50 National Parks Traveler footer

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 326 | Environmental Partisanship

Is green a red and blue construct? Put another way, is there a political partisan divide over the environment?

That’s a particularly interesting question, no doubt more so in recent years as the country seems to have drifted farther and farther apart because of our political beliefs. To that point, a reader reached out the other day to say our stories shouldn’t be negative on the Trump Administration because the national parks are going to need the help of all of us - Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and everything in-between - to survive.

May 25th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 325 | Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

News around public lands these days seems to revolve entirely around the Trump administration. In the case of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, many of the steps the administration is taking with the operational efficiencies of the National Park Service and other land management agencies certainly are keeping PEER busy.
 

May 18th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 324 | North American Bird Declines

True birders are some of the most determined and persistent hobbyists out there. If you want to call bird watching a hobby. For many, it’s more like a passion. Many look forward to “Big Day” competitions, where individuals and teams strive to see how many different bird species they can spot in a 24-hour period.

May 11th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 323 | Walt Dabney and Public Lands

It’s fair to say that the nation’s public lands, those managed by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal land-management agencies are at risk under the Trump administration.

There’s no hyperbole in that statement if you pay attention to what the administration already has done in terms of downsizing those agencies’ workforces, and when you listen to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum say he wants to open more public lands to energy development and mining.

May 4th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 322 | Congressman Jared Huffman

The first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term might be the most tumultuous first 100 days of any president. He certainly came in prepared to move his agenda forward, no matter what barriers to it existed.

We don’t usually discuss presidential politics, but President Trump has released a blizzard of executive orders and directives touching all corners of the federal government, including the National Park Service.

April 27th, 2025 Read More

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