Entrance of the sustainably designed Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center
The new visitor center of the
Lassen Volcanic National Park
carries the Maidu phrase for “snow mountain”
in its name:
Kohm Yah-mah-nee, referring to
Lassen Peak, which has a very interesting
naming history.
The generously spaced center serves as a meeting place and
a museum that lets visitors discover the geology and
culture of the park through interactive exhibits (see
Geotourism MapGuide).
The center has a cafetria and a scenic terrace with nearby
interpretive panels in a native landscape setting modeled
after the natural vegetation of the surrounding
red fir forest.
A handout, provided in the museum, describes the building
as being green from its initial design into the far future.
Some of the building material was recycled from the old,
deconstructed Lassen Ski Chalet
at the same site. Additional wood used in the construction
of the visitor center is from regional forests certified by
the Forest Stewardship Council for
sustainability. No irrigation is required for the
outdoor plantings, which have been selected and placed
to serve ecological functions
such as soil stabilization and reduction of exotic
species dispersal.
