PFF: Lassen Volcanic National Park

Thank you to our hostess Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Giving credit where credit is due:

The back of this card says:"Works Progress Administration (WPA) circa 1939, Artist Unknown. Between 1935 and 1943 the WPA's Federal Art Project printed over two million posters in 35,000 different designs to stir the public's imagination for education, theater, health, safety, and travel. Due to their fragile nature only two thousand posters have survived. The National Park image shown here is also available in the original poster format from many National Park bookstores." Published by Ranger Doug Enterprises. Seattle, WA.

From the Lassen Park website: “On May 22, 1915, an explosive eruption at Lassen Peak, the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range, devastated nearby areas and rained volcanic ash as far away as 200 miles to the east. This explosion was the most powerful in a 1914-17 series of eruptions that were the most recent to occur in the Cascades prior to the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Lassen Peak is the largest of a group of more than 30 volcanic domes erupted over the past 300,000 years in Lassen Volcanic National Park.”

Photo of the 1915 eruption

So you can see why this poster has an erupting volcano!  I'd find it a little scary myself, and maybe choose another place to go. Don't worry, the Lassen area is being actively monitored by the US Geological Survey.
Lassen Park covers part of Shasta and Lassen Counties in Northern California.

Loomis Museum is still there, and is a major visitor's center.  it is open May 28 - October 31, 2010. Some roads in Lassen are still closed right now because of snow!!  From the park website: "B.F. Loomis documented Lassen Peak's most recent eruption cycle and promoted the park's establishment. He photographed the eruptions, explored geologically, and developed an extensive museum collection. Artifacts and photographs of the 1914-1915 eruption are on display in the Loomis Museum. New exhibits feature the original equipment Loomis used to photograph the eruptions and traditional Atsugewi basketry."


I've decided to have a giveaway!  Please check my blog within the week for a post on this.  I'll be giving away this set of WPA poster postcards to one lucky winner.

Viridian