Mess Lake Lava Field black young basalt. Its westernmost and southwesternmost ends are flanked by the Mess Creek Escarpment, forming a steep prominent cliff. This cliff exposes several layers of black columnar basaltic lava flows with distal rock fragments and pyroclastic deposits. Eruptions of the young Mess Lake Lava Field basalts cascaded down this steep lava cliff similar to what occurs at the island of Hawaii and covered some of the columnar basalt jointing. Near Mess Lake, inactive hot springs can be found and are most likely associated with the most recent eruptive activity in the Mess Lake Lava Field. Hot springs are closely
Joint (geology) a distinctive type of joints that join together at triple junctions either at or about 120° angles. These joints split a rock body into long, prisms or columns. Typically, such columns are hexagonal, although 3-, 4-, 5- and 7-sided columns are relatively common. The diameter of these prismatic columns range from a few centimeters to several metres. They are often oriented perpendicular to either the upper surface and base of lava flows and the contact of the tabular igneous bodies with the surrounding rock. This type of jointing is typical of thick lava flows and shallow dikes and sills. Columnar