Mount Konocti lava dome complex, Clear Lake Volcanic Field, California

This view of Mt. Konocti from within the Clearlake Riviera neighborhood shows the topographic outline of the many discrete volcanic domes that comprise the mountain. Volcanic domes ooze from the ground to form steep-sided domes which can coalesce, forming mountains with multiple peaks. Mt. Konocti and the nearby area was assembled over ~100 thousand years, likely much more rapidly. Although it is commonly simply called “a volcano,” Mt. Konocti is actually the remnants of many smaller volcanic dome and flow eruptions, all of which occurred in a fairy short period of time and in the same general area. USGS photo by Dawnika Blatter.