Overview

The Inyo Craters are a rare chain of volcanic explosion craters and some of the youngest visible volcanic features in California. Roughly 600 years ago, which geologically speaking is practically real-time, rising magma met underground water, triggering powerful steam-driven phreatic eruptions that hurled rock and ash high into the air. The blasts left behind deep craters that later filled with groundwater, now visible as striking turquoise lakes. The craters follow a north-south fracture line connecting Mammoth Mountain to Mono Lake, forming part of the active Mono-Inyo volcanic chain that continues to shape the Mammoth Lakes area landscape today.