Fumarole

Lake County, California · Near Clearlake
38.9790°N, 122.6590°W · 1,393 ft
Hot 63°F air · Good soaking weather 1,393 ft Roadside Camping nearby (21.7 mi)
Fumarole: Not a Soaking Spring

Fumarole is a fumarole, not a traditional hot spring. These geothermal features can be extremely dangerous. Boiling water, toxic gases, and unstable ground are common hazards. Do not attempt to soak.

This entry is a fumarole, a steam vent, about two miles from Clearlake in Lake County, ten feet off Oak Street. There is no measured water temperature in our data, only a note that it runs hot, and there is no pool. Nothing here is for soaking. It is a patch of geothermal ground on the edge of town.

Location

Edge of Clearlake, with the vent right at the roadside on Oak Street. The climate is mild, twenty five inches of rain, a dusting of snow some winters. Ownership and access are both blank in our data. Little Stony is the nearest campground on file and it is over twenty miles away.

There is no best month listed and no temperature, so there is nothing to plan a soak around. If you are curious, it is a roadside stop. Access is not on record, so assume nothing about being able to walk up to it. No fee information. No camping nearby.

Terrain

Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Fumarole.

Aerial view of the ground around Fumarole LiDAR bare-earth view of the same ground around Fumarole
Aerial LiDAR bare earth

Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.

Setting
Open ground
Flat, open ground all around.
Highest ground nearby
56 ft above the spring
Within a quarter mile, to the east
Cross-section through the spring

A slice through the ground from west to east, about 0.6 miles end to end.

Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.

Heat Below
197 milliwatts per square meter of heat flow

That's about 3 times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 99% of the springs on this site.

Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.

Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.

Monthly Climate
46°
Jan
48°
Feb
50°
Mar
56°
Apr
62°
May
72°
Jun
78°
Jul
77°
Aug
72°
Sep
63°
Oct
52°
Nov
45°
Dec
Annual Precip: 25.4 in Annual Snow: 4.7 in
Current Conditions
63°F
SW 3.6 mph 51% Good soaking weather
Tuesday 87° Low 56° Sunny
Wednesday 80° Low 54° Sunny 4% precip
Thursday 81° Low 53° Sunny
Friday 88° Low 55° Sunny
Saturday 89° Low 57° Sunny
Where to Stay

Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Nearby Camping
Little Stony 21.7 mi away

Overview This location is available on a first-come, first-served basis only. Visitors are required to physically arrive at the campground to purchase and claim a site.Once on-site, you are able to pay for your campsite(s) by scanning a QR code using the Recreation.gov mobile app, and the Scan and Pay feature.In order to utilize Scan & Pay on site, you will need to first download the free Recreation.gov mobile app https://www.recreation.gov/mobile-app prior to your arrival as some remote area...

Reservable Yes
Reserve on Recreation.gov →
Temperature
Hot
Warm Hot Boiling
Avg Air Temp 60°F
Access
Road Access Roadside
Nearest Road Oak Street
Distance to Road 10 ft
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the water temperature at Fumarole?
Fumarole is classified as hot. An exact temperature measurement has not been recorded.
Where is Fumarole located?
Fumarole is located in Lake County, California at 1,393 feet elevation, near Clearlake. Coordinates: 38.9790°N, 122.6590°W.
How do I get to Fumarole?
Fumarole has Roadside road access, with the nearest road being Oak Street (10 ft from the road).
Can I camp near Fumarole?
Yes, Little Stony is located nearby (21.7 miles away).