Panum Crater is an obsidian glass volcanic cone that is part of the Mono–Inyo Craters, a chain of recent volcanic cones south of Mono Lake and east of the Sierra Nevada, in California, United States. Panum Crater is between 600 and 700 years old, and it exhibits all of the characteristics of the textbook rhyolitic lava dome.
If you are visiting the Mono Lake area, Panum Crater is just a couple miles away from the main Mono Lake tufa formations. It’s a short, scenic, uphill hike, that I would rate it as easy.
Feature Image Details
I used a Canon 24-105MM F4 L Lens at 40mm, ISO 200 for 1/100 second at F16. This is an easy shot. You just need a tripod and a camera with a timer.
This image is from September 11, 2018, at the top of the volcanic cone. The shadows would also be the same on April 1, mid to late afternoon (10 days before and 10 days after the equinox). Anytime within a couple weeks of those dates would likely have similar shadows.
This crater was a side trip hike that we took twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The afternoon is best for shadows like these.
We visited Mono Lake 10 times, 5 at sunrise and 5 at sunset over 10 days, not necessarily on the same days.
Mono Lake Area
- Please see Mono Lake, California, Eastern Sierra, Sunset for my favorite Mono Lake image of the trip.
- Also see Mono Lake, California, Eastern Sierra, Sunrise
Equipment List
Those interested in my equipment and recommendations can find it here: Mish’s Equipment List.
Please Subscribe: Click to Subscribe by Email.
If you like this article, please share by email or use one of the share buttons beneath the article.
You can also follow me on Twitter! I have both an economic forum and a photography forum.
- Photography: MishMoments
- Economics: MishGEA
MishMoments is a subset of MishGEA. Those interested in photography only should follow MishMoments.
Please follow. I do not give away or share email addresses!
Thanks!
Mike “Mish” Shedlock