Volcanic Tablelands

Name: Volcanic Tablelands
WSA Complex: Volcanic Tablelands
Acreage: 11,840
Location: northwest of Bishop

Natural Values:

A dusty, red carpet dotted with shrubs and boulders, the Volcanic Tablelands WSA is an area of small canyons, gentle hills, and volcanic bluffs. The dusty red rock is rhyolitic ash that turned to stone erupting from the Long Valley Caldera 760,000 year ago. The fractured topography is the result of faulting action that took place after the eruption.

The vegetation is mainly spiny hopsage, shadscale, ephedra, and dalea. Large mammals are rare in this area due to lack of water, but there are plenty of small mammals, lizards, and raptors.

Cultural Values:

There are Bishop Paiute spiritual areas in the Volcanic Tablelands. This is also an area of historic seed collecting by Paiute Indians.

Recreational Values:

Exploring, birding, and watching the sunset on the adjacent White Mountains.