Carrizozo Volcanic Field | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 1,565 to 1,730 m (5,135 to 5,676 ft) [1] |
Coordinates | 33°42′10″N105°56′17″W / 33.70278°N 105.93806°W [2] |
Geography | |
Location | Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States |
Geology | |
Mountain type | volcanic field |
Volcanic arc/belt | Rio Grande Rift [3] |
Last eruption | 3250 BCE ± 500 years [4] |
The Carrizozo volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field located in New Mexico, US. The volcanic field consists of two lava flows, the Broken Back flow and the Carrizozo lava flow (Carrizozo Malpais), the second youngest in New Mexico. [5] Both lava flows originated from groups of cinder cones. The Broken Back flow is approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) long and the Carrizozo, one of the largest in the world, is 68 kilometres (42 mi) long, covering 328 square kilometres (127 sq mi) with a volume of 4.2 cubic kilometres (1.0 cu mi). [1]
The Carrizozo Malpais is a large lava flow on the west side of Carrizozo, New Mexico, on the northern part of the Tularosa Basin between Sierra Blanca to the southeast and the Oscura Mountains to the west.
The lava making up the flow came from Little Black Peak, about 10 miles (16 km) north-northwest of Carrizozo. It reached about 40 miles (64 km) south-southwest along the bottom of Tularosa Basin in two active flows. Initial age estimates ranged from 1,000 to 1,500 years ago, but recent cosmogenic dating techniques revealed the eruption date is 5200 ± 700 years ago. [6] At their southern end, the lava flows are about 12 miles (19 km) north of the dune fields of White Sands National Park. The Carrizozo Woman's Club helped protect this state area. [7]
The lava flow is composed of pāhoehoe lava that spread through lava tubes. The eruptions are estimated to have lasted about three decades, and the extent of the flow reflects this long eruptive duration rather than a high eruption rate. [8]
The Valley of Fires Recreation Area provides access to the Malpaís on its east edge, about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Carrizozo on U.S. Route 380. [9] The highway has several scenic overlooks where it crosses the Malpaís. The entire extent of the flow can be seen from higher elevations to the east on U.S. Route 380. The Trinity (nuclear test), first atomic bomb detonation site, is 20 miles (32 km) northwest.
The Broken Back flow erupted from vents (a north-trending fissure, Broken Back Crater, and an unnamed cinder cone) located about 10 kilometers (6 mi) northwest of Little Black Peak. The flow covered an area of about 50 square kilometers (20 sq mi) and is partially overlapped by the younger Carrizozo Malpais. This flow is significantly older than the Carrizozo Malpais, with an age estimated as 100,000 years, based on the degree of weathering and erosion. [10]
The volcanic field is associated with the Rio Grande Rift, a region of the Earth's crust that is being slowly pulled apart. This produces faulting that provides paths for magma to reach the Earth's surface from its upper mantle. [10] The lavas erupted were mildly alkaline in composition, similar to the nearby Jornada del Muerto, Hillsboro, and Black Mesa ( 33°44′46″N106°52′23″W / 33.746°N 106.873°W ) flows. [11]
Seismic measurements in the region have detected a possible thermal anomaly associated with the volcanic field. [12]
Name | Elevation | Coordinates | Last eruption |
Broken Back Crater [2] | - | 33°49′56″N106°04′01″W / 33.83219°N 106.06695°W | - |
Little Black Peak [2] | - | 33°49′24″N106°03′41″W / 33.82330°N 106.06137°W | - |
Jornada del Muerto was the name given by the Spanish conquistadors to the area's basin, and the almost waterless 90-mile (140 km) trail across the Jornada beginning north of Las Cruces and ending south of Socorro, New Mexico. The name translates from Spanish as "Dead Man's Journey" or "Route of the Dead Man". The trail was part of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which led northward from central colonial New Spain, present-day Mexico, to the farthest reaches of the viceroyalty in northern Nuevo México Province.
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava erupted from a stratovolcano. Repeated eruptions result in the steady accumulation of broad sheets of lava, building up the shield volcano's distinctive form.
Cinder Cone is a cinder cone volcano in Lassen Volcanic National Park within the United States. It is located about 10 mi (16 km) northeast of Lassen Peak and provides an excellent view of Brokeoff Mountain, Lassen Peak, and Chaos Crags.
Newberry Volcano is a large active shield-shaped stratovolcano located about 20 miles (32 km) south of Bend, Oregon, United States, 35 miles (56 km) east of the major crest of the Cascade Range, within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Its highest point is Paulina Peak. The largest volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, Newberry has an area of 1,200 square miles (3,100 km2) when its lava flows are taken into account. From north to south, the volcano has a length of 75 miles (121 km), with a width of 27 miles (43 km) and a total volume of approximately 120 cubic miles (500 km3). It was named for the geologist and surgeon John Strong Newberry, who explored central Oregon for the Pacific Railroad Surveys in 1855. The surrounding area has been inhabited by Native American populations for more than 10,000 years.
Belknap Crater is a shield volcano in the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Linn County, it is associated with lava fields and numerous subfeatures including the Little Belknap and South Belknap volcanic cones. It lies north of McKenzie Pass and forms part of the Mount Washington Wilderness. Belknap is not forested and most of its lava flows are not vegetated, though there is some wildlife in the area around the volcano, as well as a number of tree molds formed by its eruptive activity.
Pisgah Crater, or Pisgah Volcano, is a young volcanic cinder cone rising above a lava plain in the Mojave Desert, between Barstow and Needles, California in San Bernardino County, California. The volcanic peak is around 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of historic U.S. Route 66-National Old Trails Highway and of Interstate 40, and west of the town of Ludlow. The volcano had a historic elevation of 2,638 feet (804 m), but has been reduced to 2,545 feet (776 m) due to mining.
El Malpais National Monument is a National Monument located in western New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. The name El Malpais is from the Spanish term Malpaís, meaning badlands, due to the extremely barren and dramatic volcanic field that covers much of the park's area.
The Sierra Blanca is an ultra-prominent range of volcanic mountains in Lincoln and Otero counties in the south-central part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The range is about 40 miles (64 km) from north to south and 20 miles (32 km) wide.
The Tseax Cone, also called the Tseax River Cone or the Aiyansh Volcano, is a young and active cinder cone and adjacent lava flows associated with the Nass Ranges and the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province. It is located east of Crater Creek at outlet of Melita Lake, southeast of Gitlakdamix and 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Terrace, British Columbia, Canada.
The Jornada del Muerto Volcano is a small shield volcano and lava field in central New Mexico, about 10 by 15 miles in size and reaching an elevation of 5,136 feet (1,565 m). Jornada del Muerto means "Dead Man's Route" in Spanish, referring to the desolate colonial era trail from New Spain through this Malpaís region.
A cinder cone is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or lava fountains from a single, typically cylindrical, vent. As the gas-charged lava is blown violently into the air, it breaks into small fragments that solidify and fall as either cinders, clinkers, or scoria around the vent to form a cone that often is symmetrical; with slopes between 30 and 40°; and a nearly circular ground plan. Most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit.
San Felipe volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field located just north of the confluence of the Jemez River and the Rio Grande in New Mexico, US.
The Potrillo volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field located on the Rio Grande Rift in southern New Mexico, United States and northern Chihuahua, Mexico. The volcanic field lies 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Las Cruces, and occupies about 4,600 square kilometers (1,800 sq mi) near the U.S. border with Mexico.
Malpaís, in the Southwestern United States, Spain, Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking regions, are rough and barren landscapes that consist of relict and largely uneroded lava fields exhibiting recognizable lava flows, volcanic cones, and other volcanic landforms. This type of volcanic landscape is extremely rough and difficult to traverse. It is characteristic of arid environments because in more humid climates, such rough terrains are smoothed by erosion and vegetation.
The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field, also called the Clearwater Cone Group, is a potentially active monogenetic volcanic field in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located approximately 130 km (81 mi) north of Kamloops. It is situated in the Cariboo Mountains of the Columbia Mountains and on the Quesnel and Shuswap Highlands. As a monogenetic volcanic field, it is a place with numerous small basaltic volcanoes and extensive lava flows.
The Mount Edziza volcanic complex is a large and potentially active north-south trending complex volcano in Stikine Country, northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located 38 kilometres (24 mi) southeast of the small community of Telegraph Creek. It occupies the southeastern portion of the Tahltan Highland, an upland area of plateau and lower mountain ranges, lying east of the Boundary Ranges and south of the Inklin River, which is the east fork of the Taku River. As a volcanic complex, it consists of many types of volcanoes, including shield volcanoes, calderas, lava domes, stratovolcanoes, and cinder cones.
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or underwater, usually at temperatures from 800 to 1,200 °C. The volcanic rock resulting from subsequent cooling is also often called lava.
The volcanic history of the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province presents a record of volcanic activity in northwestern British Columbia, central Yukon and the U.S. state of easternmost Alaska. The volcanic activity lies in the northern part of the Western Cordillera of the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Extensional cracking of the North American Plate in this part of North America has existed for millions of years. Continuation of this continental rifting has fed scores of volcanoes throughout the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province over at least the past 20 million years and occasionally continued into geologically recent times.
Michoacán–Guanajuato volcanic field is located in the Michoacán and Guanajuato states of central Mexico. It is a volcanic field that takes the form of a large cinder cone field, with numerous shield volcanoes and maars. Pico de Tancítaro is the highest peak.
Bandera Volcano Ice Cave, also known as Zuni Ice Cave, is a lava tube cave in New Mexico with an internal temperature significantly less than above-ground summertime ambient temperature; it contains perennial ice. The inside temperatures can fluctuate between −1 and 10 °C. Some areas of the ice cave never reach above freezing. For years, local Indigenous people used the cave to store food.