The Geometric Honeycomb Pillars of Crowley Lake Were Discovered After a California Drought in 1941

Crowley Lake Columns, California

East of Mammoth Lakes, thousands of strange hexagonal columns line the shores of Crowley Lake. These 20-foot-tall formations weren’t built by ancient civilizations. They’re the result of a unique geological process when volcanic ash met snowmelt. The columns stayed hidden until the reservoir’s construction exposed them in 1941. Here’s the story.

How the Columns Form Perfect Six-Sided Shapes

Look closely at these stone columns and you’ll see they’re not just roughly six-sided – their angles measure exactly 120 degrees at each corner. Each column is about 2-3 feet wide, creating a pattern that looks like a giant stone beehive.

When hot lava cooled long ago, it shrank evenly from the center, causing the rock to crack into these perfect shapes. Scientists who have studied hundreds of these columns have found that more than 90% keep their six-sided pattern from top to bottom.

The Volcanic Event That Created These Columns

These stone columns tell the story of a massive volcanic explosion that happened 760,000 years ago. When extremely hot ash from the eruption fell into an ancient lake, it created the perfect conditions for these columns to form.

The ash was as hot as 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit when it hit the cool lake water. This quick cooling made the rock shrink and crack in a regular pattern, which is why we see these striking hexagonal shapes today.

What Lies Beneath the Visible Columns

Scientists using special radar equipment have found that these columns don’t just stop at ground level – they go down as deep as 300 feet. What we can see above ground is only about one-fifth of the whole formation.

This underground network of columns stretches for about five miles, making it one of the biggest column systems in North America. By studying these hidden structures, scientists can better understand how this area was shaped during the Pleistocene period.

Why Each Column Has Distinctive Grooves

Each stone column has special grooves called “rills” that can be a few inches. Unlike scratches made by wind or water, these grooves formed when the rock first cooled and hardened.

These lines run straight up and down the columns, showing exactly how the rock cooled. By studying these patterns, scientists can tell that the rock took anywhere from several weeks to several months to cool completely from high temperatures.

The Range of Column Sizes Throughout the Site

The columns come in many different sizes, from as thin as 6 inches to as wide as 6 feet across. Some reach up to 20 feet into the sky, while others are much shorter.

You’ll find the biggest columns in the northern part of the site, where the rock cooled slowly over several months. The smaller columns, which you can see along the southern edge, formed in places where the rock cooled more quickly.

How Minerals Create Colors in the Rock

Different minerals in the volcanic rock give the columns their varied colors. The stone contains feldspar, quartz, and iron oxides, which create shades from light cream to dark gray, with streaks of rusty red and amber.

The colors look most striking when the sun rises or sets, as the slanting light makes the different minerals stand out. These color patterns also help scientists figure out how hot the rock was and what chemicals were present when the columns formed.

The Way Weather Changes These Stone Columns

When it rains, the columns soak up water differently across their surface, which briefly makes their hexagonal patterns more visible. In winter, frost creates beautiful geometric designs where the columns meet.

These changing weather conditions do more than just affect how the columns look – they also slowly wear away at the rock. Through cycles of freezing and thawing, the weather gradually reveals new surfaces while keeping the six-sided structure intact.

What the Columns Tell Us About Earth’s Past

These stone columns hold clues about what the environment was like 760,000 years ago. Different layers in the columns contain minerals that show us how temperatures, volcanic activity, and lake levels changed over time.

By studying these layers, scientists have learned that the ancient lake’s temperature ranges from 50 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer months.

The Unusual Sounds These Columns Make

When you tap on different parts of these columns, they ring out with distinct musical notes that can vary by octaves. The spaces between the columns work like echo chambers, making some sounds louder while muffling others.

Scientists use these sound patterns to learn about what’s inside the columns. The different tones tell them about how dense the rock is, what it’s made of, and where it might have cracks.

How Nature Shapes the Columns Over Time

Water has smoothed the eastern faces of these columns, while the western sides remain rough and angular. Every year, erosion reveals two or three new columns that were previously buried.

Some parts of the formation show little wear despite being exposed for thousands of years, while other areas have been heavily sculpted by the elements. This helps scientists understand how this type of volcanic rock holds up against long-term exposure to weather.

The Wildlife That Lives Among the Columns

Between the columns, the temperature stays 10-15 degrees cooler than the surrounding air, creating perfect homes for certain plants and animals. Small mammals like pikas and yellow-bellied marmots make their homes in the gaps between the rocks.

A special type of golden granite lichen grows only on these columns, adapted to live on this specific volcanic rock. Birds, including cliff swallows, return each spring to build nests in the columns.

The Columns’ Importance to Science

With over 5,000 columns still in their original positions, this site is one of the best-preserved examples of hexagonal rock formations in North America. Scientists can easily study these columns because they’re so well-preserved and accessible.

Research here has taught us a lot about how cooling lava forms geometric patterns and how these structures change over time. Scientists continue to make new discoveries about volcanic processes here, which help us understand everything from building materials to earthquake prediction.