Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park

Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park is a state park of California in the United States. It is located in remote northeastern Shasta County and is only accessible to the public by boat.The park is 4mi in length and no more than 1mi wide, and has over 13mi of shoreline. It preserves a wilderness of freshwater springs and geologically recent lava flows. Waterways include the Fall River and associated creeks and lakes. The shoreline has blue bays and tree-studded islets along its length. Near the springs are the remains of fish traps built by Native Californian tribes such as the Achomawi, for whom the park is named. Low rock walls enclose shallow pools where they captured sucker and trout. About two thirds of the park's 5930acre is covered by jagged black basalt deposited in lava flows within the last two to five thousand years.The state of California acquired the land from private owners in 1975.HistoryPacific Gas & Electric owned large tracts of the local swampland. Much of the shoreline of the park is on Big Lake, which was created when levees and canals were installed. A muskrat farm was operated there until the 1930s. Muskrats can still be seen in the local marshes. The non-native species is notorious for altering wetland habitat, increasing the likelihood of floods.