Geology

Volcanic Tableland (Chalk Bluff)

Inyo County, CA

Approximate location — plotted from published sources, not a site visit, and not a guarantee of access.

South-facing escarpment of the Bishop Tuff Volcanic Tableland north of Bishop — a ~760,000-year-old welded rhyolite ignimbrite sheet erupted from the Long Valley Caldera. Chalk Bluff rises hundreds of feet above the Owens River corridor and is a classic Eastern Sierra stop for volcanic stratigraphy, faulted mesa topography, and BLM-managed public land recreation (climbing at Happy/Sad Boulders nearby).

Facts

RegionInyo County, CA
Coordinates (approx.)37.4119, -118.4687
CountyInyo
FormationBishop Tuff (Long Valley Caldera)
Age~760 ka
ManagerBLM Bishop Field Office (public land)

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