The mysterious volcanic columns along Crowley Lake

Volcanic columns jut out on the eastern shore of Crowley Lake in Mono County. Researchers have determined that the columns were created by cold water percolating down into — and steam rising up out of — hot volcanic ash spewed by a cataclysmic explosion 760,000 years ago.

Clipboard and GPS device in hand, graduate student Robin Wham hikes down a chalky trail to the columns. “From the very first moment I laid eyes on this weird and wondrous place a year ago, I was smitten,” the 62-year-old said. “It made me go back to school to get a master’s degree in geology.”

Robin Wham photographs the columns, which for decades were regarded as little more than curiosities along the eastern shore of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Crowley Lake reservoir. They had been buried and hidden for eons until the reservoir’s pounding waves began carving out the softer material at the base of cliffs of pumice and ash.

Visitors have stacked volcanic “discs” near the columns. Next year, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will begin ferrying students to the site as part of an “effort to further educate the public about these invaluable natural resources,” said Amanda Parsons, a spokeswoman for the utility.