Aerial view is toward the northeast rim of Long Valley Caldera from above the resurgent dome (forested area in lower left). The Owens River flows from left to right between the dome and caldera rim in the broad depression known as Long Valley, after which the caldera was named.

The surface of the flat lowlands east of the resurgent dome is layered with sediments that were deposited when a large lake filled the caldera. Scientists have identified terraces and standlines from the former lake both along the eastern caldera wall and on the flanks of the resurgent dome. During the early life of the lake, glaciers flowing into it from the Sierra Nevada generated icebergs that drifted across the lake. The icebergs carried large granite rocks eroded from the Sierra Nevada and deposited them on the flanks of the resurgent dome, which stood as an island, and on the lake terraces on the east caldera wall.