Unusual Nicknames: Chester Volcanoes

Since 1951, Chester Jr./Sr. High School in Chester, California has proudly carried the name “Volcanoes,” a student-chosen mascot that pays tribute to the fiery geology in the community’s backyard.

Located near Lake Almanor in the Sierra Nevada, Chester sits in the shadow of Lassen Peak – an active volcano in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen, the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range, is the largest of more than 30 volcanic domes that have erupted in the park over the past 300,000 years.

When the high school opened nearly 75 years ago, students voted to adopt the Volcanoes as their mascot. No other U.S. high school has the same name.

Chester’s primary logo features a green volcano erupting, with the school’s name encircling it. The school also has “Vic the Volcano,” a costumed mascot with a face, arms, feet — and smoke and fire bursting from his head.

Though Lassen Volcanic National Park is less than 30 miles from Chester, the school hasn’t faced any dangerous conditions in recent years. Lassen last erupted between 1914 and 1917, with its largest blast in 1915 sending volcanic ash nearly 200 miles away. Those were the last eruptions in the Cascades until Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, according to the National Park Service.