What's Inside the Mountain?
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Mt. Konocti, Lake County's ancient towering volcano is the subject of legends. Pomo oral history describes a huge tunnel at the base of Mt. Konocti that was exposed during times of drought. Pomo explorers found a huge cave and lake inside, filled with blind fish. In the late 1800s and the 20th century, numerous stories have been recorded of a large venthole and caves on the peak of Konocti. Residents described dropping rocks down the vent and not hearing them reach bottom. Others carved initials on sticks and dropped them into the hole, to find them floating in the lake weeks later.
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The Konocti Project, Inc., a non profit organization devoted to the “preservation, exploration and protection of Mt. Konocti” was created in the 1990's by Bob Zalusky, a World War II Flying Tigers veteran and ex-airline pilot in conjunction with Norman J. Lehrman, chief geologist for Homestake Mining Co.
They believed the center of the mountain contained a huge cavern; one or more vent holes extended from the top of the mountain down into the center. Another tube extended from the cavern into the lake, allowing water from Clear Lake to flow in and create an interior lake.
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The two men then assembled a crew of interested scientists and residents, subsequently discovering the location of the cave near Wright’s Peak; inside were carved initials and dates going back to the 1930s. After obtaining permission from the landowner, the crew continued to search for the legendary vent hole.
Watch The Konocti Project film to learn about what they discovered: |
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Learn More About Mt. Konocti
Know Lake County: The History of Mt. Konocti |
An enchanting lecture on the history of Mt. Konocti by Terry Knight, author and columnist for the Lake County Record Bee.
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