Trifter

Devil’s Postpile National Monument in western California contains two beautiful natural features, Devil’s Postpile and Rainbow Falls,  that were molded and carved out of rock by nature’s massive forces including mainly volcanoes and glaciers.

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The postpile itself was formed as a result of massive volcanic lava flow that cooled slowly and evenly which created the uniform basalt columns of Devil’s Postpile. As you can see from the columns still standing and those that have fallen the entire structure has great uniformity.

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The majority of the columns are hexagonal and the top of Devil’s Postpile has a smooth almost man-made flooring or patio appearance which occurred as a result of a glacier which smashed off the top of the rock formation and left a polished finished look.

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The columns are as long as 60 feet with an average diameter of 2 feet according to the United States Geological Survey, which has a couple of the columns on display at the entrance to the USGS headquarters in Virginia.

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Beautiful Rainbow Falls was formed by the same type of volcanic and glacier power of mother nature that formed the postpile as lava flows formed the falls area and glaciers finished the carving job.

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Today Rainbow Falls drops 101 lovely feet along the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River about 2 miles downstream from Devil’s Postpile. The falls is named for the frequent rainbows to be seen especially around the base of Rainbow Falls.

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Between 7 am and 7:30 pm visitors to Devil’s Postpile National Monument are required to park at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and take a shuttle bus to the park. I visited here about 15 years ago and drove right into the park so either this rule is new since then or I visited after 7:30 pm. The park receives plenty of snow each year and is only open from late Spring to early Fall as conditions permit. To reach Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and the shuttle buses take US Highway 395 to the Minaret Road/203 exit. The ski resort is located right along Minaret Road/203 just follow the signs you cannot miss it. To reach Devil’s Postpile National Monument itself just keep going along Minaret Road/203 and follow the signs to the park. Though this national monument in California is a bit out of the way and only open for parts of the year it is well worth the visit to see both of these fantastic creations of mother nature.

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You can see all the great waterfalls located in nearby Yosemite National Park here. To see a waterfall that flows right over basalt lava columns see Beautiful Waterfalls of Northern Iceland.