The Secrets of Mount Shasta
Stories say a hidden city lies inside a volcano in northern California, home to people from a lost continent.
What was reported
Mount Shasta is a tall, snow-covered volcano in northern California, sacred to several Native American peoples. From the late 19th century, a series of books and writers claimed that survivors of a lost continent called Lemuria lived in tunnels and a city deep inside it.
Visitors have since reported tall robed figures, strange lights and humming sounds on its slopes. Its smooth, saucer-shaped lenticular clouds are often photographed and mistaken for flying craft.
Explanations offered
The Lemuria stories trace back to a novel published in 1905 and to later spiritual movements. There is no geological or archaeological evidence of tunnels or a city. The lens-shaped clouds form when strong winds flow over the peak.
- When
- Legends since the late 1800s
- Where
- Mount Shasta, California, USA
- Witnesses
- Hikers, visitors and spiritual seekers
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.