Lava Beds National Monument | |
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IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
Location | Siskiyou and Modoc counties, California, United States |
Nearest city | Tulelake, California |
Coordinates | 41°42′50″N121°30′30″W / 41.71389°N 121.50833°W |
Area | 46,692 acres (188.96 km2) [1] |
Established | November 21, 1925 |
Visitors | 141,00(in 2023) [2] |
Governing body | National Park Service |
Website | www |
Lava Beds National Monument Archeological District | |
NRHP reference No. | 75002182 [3] |
Added to NRHP | 1991 |
Lava Beds National Monument is located in northeastern California, in Siskiyou and Modoc counties. The monument lies on the northeastern flank of Medicine Lake Volcano, which is the largest volcano by area in the Cascade Range.
The region in and around Lava Beds National Monument lies at the junction of the Sierra-Klamath, Cascade, and Great Basin physiographic provinces. The monument was established as a national monument on November 21, 1925, and includes more than 46,000 acres (190 km2).
Lava Beds National Monument has numerous lava tubes, with 27 having marked entrances and developed trails for public access and exploration. The monument also offers trails through the high Great Basin xeric shrubland desert landscape and the volcanic field. In 1872 and 1873, the area was the site of the Modoc War, involving a band led by Kintpuash (also known as Captain Jack). The area of Captain Jack's Stronghold was named in his honor.
Lava Beds National Monument is geologically significant because of its wide variety of volcanic formations, including lava tubes, fumaroles, cinder cones, spatter cones, pit craters, hornitos, maars, lava flows, and volcanic fields.
Volcanic eruptions on the Medicine Lake shield volcano have created a rugged landscape punctuated by these many landforms of volcanism.
Cinder cones are formed when magma is under great pressure. It is released in a fountain of lava, blown into the air from a central vent. The lava cools as it falls, forming cinders that pile up around the vent. When the pressure has been relieved, the rest of the lava flows from the base of the cone. Cinder cones are typically monogenetic.
The cinder cones of Hippo Butte, Three Sisters, Juniper Butte, and Crescent Butte are all older than the Mammoth and Modoc Crater flows, more than 30,000–40,000 years old. Eagle Nest Butte and Bearpaw Butte are 114,000 years old. Schonchin Butte cinder cone and the andesitic flow from its base were formed around 62,000 years ago. The flow that formed Valentine Cave erupted 10,850 years ago. An eruption that formed The Castles is younger than the Mammoth Crater flows. Even younger were eruptions from Fleener Chimneys, such as the Devil's Homestead flow, 10,500 years ago, and Black Crater 3,025 years ago. About 1,110 years ago, plus or minus 60 years, the Callahan flow was produced by an eruption from Cinder Butte. Though Cinder Butte is just outside the boundary of the monument, the Callahan flow is in Lava Beds and is the youngest flow in the monument.
Spatter cones are built out of thicker lava. The lava is thrown out of the vent and builds, layer by layer, a chimney surrounding the vent. Fleener Chimneys and Black Crater are examples of spatter cones.
Roughly ninety percent of the lava in the Lava Beds Monument is basaltic. There are primarily two kinds of basaltic lava flows: pahoehoe and ʻaʻā. Pahoehoe is smooth, often ropy and is the most common type of lava in Lava Beds. ʻAʻā is formed when pahoehoe cools and loses some of its gases. ʻAʻā is rough, sharp, and jagged; an excellent example is the Devil's Homestead lava flow, which originated at Fleener Chimneys. Most of the rest of the lava in the monument is andesitic. Pumice, a type of rhyolitic lava, also is found covering the monument; this rained down around 900 years ago during the eruption of Glass Mountain.
The flows from Mammoth and Modoc Craters comprise about two-thirds of the lava in the monument. Over 30 separate lava flows located in the park range in age from 2,000,000 years BP to 1,110 years BP. Some of the major lava flows within Lava Beds National Monument include the Callahan Flow; Schonchin Flow; Mammoth Crater Flow; Modoc Crater Flow; and Devil's Homestead Flow.
Gillem Bluff, a fault scarp, was created as the region stretched and a block of earth dropped down along this fault (see Basin and Range Province). The tuff layer on top of Gillem Bluff is 2,000,000 years old, indicating the rock layers beneath are even older. The oldest lava flow from the Medicine Lake Volcano within the monument is the Basalt of Hovey Point, near Captain Jack's Stronghold, which is 450,000 years old. Petroglyph Point was created about 275,000 years ago when cinders erupted through the shallow water of Tule Lake; violent explosions of ash and steam formed layers upon layers of tuff.
The caldera is thought to have formed by subsidence, during which basalt and andesite were erupted up on the slopes. [4]
Lava flows dated to about 30,000–40,000 years ago formed most of the lava tubes in the monument. As the hot basaltic lava flowed downhill, the top cooled and crusted over, insulating the rest of the lava and forming lava tubes. Lavacicles on the ceiling of a lava tube were produced as the level of lava in the tube retreated and the viscous lava on the ceiling dripped as it cooled.
Dripstone was created when lava splashed on the inside walls of the tubes. The leaching of minerals from pumice gravel, soils, and overlying rock provides for deposition of secondary speleothems in lava tubes.
Lava Beds National Monument has the largest concentration of lava tubes in North America. One has electrical lighting; the others are illuminated by ceiling collapse portals or require flashlights, available on loan.
Notable examples in the park include Catacombs Cave, Merrill Cave, Mushpot Cave, and Valentine Cave. [6]
A series of small earthquakes in late 1988 has been attributed to subsidence in the caldera. North-northeast trending ground cracks, as well as north-northeast trending vent series show relationships between tectonism and volcanism. One notable ground crack, the Big Crack, extends along the northeastern boundary of the monument.
The high elevation, semi-arid desert environment of Lava Beds National Monument receives an average of 14.22 in (36 cm) of annual precipitation, including 43.2 in (110 cm) of snowfall. The climate is characterized by warm, dry summers and cold, moderately snowy winters. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 31.8 °F (−0.1 °C) in December to 68.92 °F (20.5 °C) in July; there are an average of 23.8 days with 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs annually, and 8.4 days where the high does not rise above freezing. The average window for freezing temperatures is September 20 thru June 6.
Climate data for Lava Beds National Monument, California, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1948–present | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 62 (17) | 68 (20) | 75 (24) | 88 (31) | 94 (34) | 99 (37) | 103 (39) | 102 (39) | 99 (37) | 90 (32) | 74 (23) | 64 (18) | 103 (39) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 55.6 (13.1) | 58.5 (14.7) | 66.9 (19.4) | 74.1 (23.4) | 83.5 (28.6) | 90.4 (32.4) | 96.2 (35.7) | 95.5 (35.3) | 90.9 (32.7) | 80.1 (26.7) | 67.1 (19.5) | 52.4 (11.3) | 97.7 (36.5) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 42.9 (6.1) | 45.8 (7.7) | 51.5 (10.8) | 56.7 (13.7) | 66.4 (19.1) | 75.7 (24.3) | 86.0 (30.0) | 85.5 (29.7) | 78.1 (25.6) | 65.5 (18.6) | 50.4 (10.2) | 41.2 (5.1) | 62.1 (16.7) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 32.8 (0.4) | 35.2 (1.8) | 39.7 (4.3) | 43.9 (6.6) | 52.4 (11.3) | 59.8 (15.4) | 69.2 (20.7) | 68.3 (20.2) | 61.5 (16.4) | 50.9 (10.5) | 38.8 (3.8) | 31.8 (−0.1) | 48.7 (9.3) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 22.7 (−5.2) | 24.5 (−4.2) | 27.9 (−2.3) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 38.3 (3.5) | 43.8 (6.6) | 52.5 (11.4) | 51.2 (10.7) | 44.8 (7.1) | 36.2 (2.3) | 27.3 (−2.6) | 22.3 (−5.4) | 35.2 (1.8) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 9.7 (−12.4) | 11.8 (−11.2) | 15.3 (−9.3) | 20.2 (−6.6) | 26.2 (−3.2) | 31.2 (−0.4) | 41.0 (5.0) | 40.4 (4.7) | 32.0 (0.0) | 22.4 (−5.3) | 15.1 (−9.4) | 9.0 (−12.8) | 4.5 (−15.3) |
Record low °F (°C) | −13 (−25) | −13 (−25) | 3 (−16) | 11 (−12) | 19 (−7) | 21 (−6) | 29 (−2) | 30 (−1) | 21 (−6) | 9 (−13) | 2 (−17) | −18 (−28) | −18 (−28) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.63 (41) | 2.10 (53) | 1.85 (47) | 1.30 (33) | 1.37 (35) | 0.99 (25) | 0.36 (9.1) | 0.34 (8.6) | 0.44 (11) | 0.85 (22) | 1.46 (37) | 1.53 (39) | 14.22 (360.7) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 8.7 (22) | 9.3 (24) | 6.9 (18) | 4.0 (10) | 1.0 (2.5) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.3 (0.76) | 5.0 (13) | 7.9 (20) | 43.2 (110.51) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 10.9 | 9.2 | 11.4 | 9.9 | 7.4 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 9.1 | 7.9 | 84.7 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 6.4 | 5.1 | 5.7 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 5.0 | 30.8 |
Source 1: NOAA [7] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: National Weather Service [8] |
The lava tube collapse systems and lava outcrops support a great diversity of plant life, from an impressive variety of lichens and mosses to plants such as desert sweet ( Chamaebatiaria millefolium ), the aromatic purple desert sage ( Salvia dorrii carnosa) and yellow blazing star ( Mentzelia laevicaulis ). An impressive variety of fern species are present in cave entrances including the spreading wood fern ( Dryopteris expansa ) and the western swordfern ( Polystichum munitum ). These species are well outside of their normal range, which is 90–125 mi (145–201 km) west on the northern California coastline.
Despite harsh, semi-arid conditions, native wildlife has adapted to the environmental constraints present in the region. There are no terrestrial water resources in Lava Beds National Monument. Some animals obtain water from caves, while others fly about twenty km (12 miles) north to Tule Lake. Federal and state animal species of special concern in the Monument include the Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii), fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes), long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis), long-legged myotis (Myotis volans), pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus), silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivigans), Townsends big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii), western small-footed myotis (Myotis ciliolabrum), and American badger (Taxidea taxus).
Because of a lack of surface water, amphibian presence in the monument is limited. The most common species found in the monument is the Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla). This species is also found in the biologically rich cave entrances in the monument. Reptile species found in the monument include the northern sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus graciosus graciosus), Great Basin fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis biseriatus), western skink (Eumeces skiltonianus skiltonianus), Rocky Mountain rubber boa (Charina bottae utahensis), gopher snake (Pituophis melanoleucus), desert night snake (Hypsiglena torquata deserticola), and western rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis).
Key animal species by habitat:
Lava Beds National Monument includes Petroglyph Point, one of the largest panels of Native American rock art in the United States. The region was historically occupied by the Modoc people. The Lava Beds National Monument Archeological District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 1991. [3]
During the Modoc War of 1872–1873, warriors of a band led by Kintpuash (Captain Jack) used the lava beds as a defensive stronghold to resist being captured and returned to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon, to which they had been removed, as European Americans wanted their lands. The Modoc took refuge in a natural lava fortress that was later named Captain Jack's Stronghold. From this defensive base, a group of 53 fighting men and their families held off US Army forces, amounting to ten times the Modocs' population, for five months.
In April 1873, at a peace commission meeting, Captain Jack killed General Edward Canby while associates killed Reverend Eleazer Smith and wounded two other commissioners. Canby was the only casualty of the Indian Wars who had the rank of general at the time of his death. The Modoc mistakenly thought the Americans would leave if their leaders were killed. Instead Army reinforcements were brought in and the Modoc were eventually forced to surrender. Kintpuash and his associates were convicted of war crimes for the murders, and executed by hanging at Fort Klamath.
An early steward for the land was J. D. Howard, a miller residing in Klamath Falls. He explored the area intimately beginning in 1917, naming geographic features and making caves accessible. With the area growing attention, he noticed visitors beginning to damage the cave features. [10]
Howard's perceived need to preserve the lava tubes and the area's other geological features was a major reason why he vigorously pushed for a federally protected status. [11] He would photograph interiors of each cave as part of an effort to persuade people to protect the area. In a letter written in 1923, Howard urged United States Forest Service officials, state legislators, and community leaders to declare the caves a park; "This is the last of Park sites in the States, and is far Superior to all the others as it embraces enough phenomena to keep one busy for at least Three Month Sight Seeing with Cap Jack’s Stronghold to study on leisure hours." [10]
Howard's campaign was successful, as Lava Beds National Monument was signed into existence by President Calvin Coolidge on November 21, 1925. [12] It was created under the auspices of the 1906 Antiquities Act. [10]
The only expansion in the modern era occurred in 2011 when the monument expanded by roughly 132 acres (53 ha). An administrative transfer brought two parcels of land which were previously managed by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management into National Park Service management. These two parcels adjoin the Petroglyph Point Unit of the monument.
The Lava Beds National Wilderness is a 28,460-acre (11,520 ha) wilderness area within the Lava Beds National Monument. It was designated by the US Congress on October 13, 1972, with passage of Public Law 92-493. [13] The wilderness protects more than half of the national monument in two separate eastern and western units. The larger eastern unit contains the extensive Schonchin lava flow on the east side of the monument. The western unit covers the monument's area within the transition zone of the Cascade Range's montane southern end and the arid Modoc Plateau ecosystems.
The different soil types creates plant community diversity in the wilderness area, providing various habitats for a wide range of wildlife. The numerous coyotes and foxes, as well as raptors, feed on rodents such as the jackrabbit and kangaroo rat. The kangaroo rat is especially adapted to waterless environments because it does not need to drink. [14] It obtains water as a byproduct of the oxidation of nutrients in the seeds it eats. [14]
Many raptors are seen in the wilderness area, with 24 species of hawks identified. [15] The monument is located on the Pacific Flyway, and the bald eagle winters in the northern portion of the wilderness area.
The National Park Service manages the Lava Beds wilderness area and has several restrictions in place. Camping is prohibited near cave entrances or trails. Open campfires may be prohibited during very hot and dry weather.
The Lava Beds National Monument has 13 hiking trails, all of which cross or enter the backcountry. [16] The most popular trails are short, but lead to a number of historic sites as to several geological areas within the Lava Beds Wilderness. The long trails are mostly in designated wilderness areas.
These trails are primarily associated with park attractions, especially the Lava Beds geological wilderness, and are sometimes out-and-back day hikes, and in many cases are improved boardwalks and supported with interpretive signs and exhibits.
Trail name (arranged by distance from Visitor Center) | Description | Trailhead(s) | Length |
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Short trails | |||
Bunchgrass Trail | Follows the northeast side of Crescent Butte | Starts across from Site B-7 in the campground. | 1 mi (1.6 km) |
Missing Link Trail | Links the Three Sisters Trail to the Bunchgrass Trail, creating a 10 mi (16 km) loop. | Begins on the Bunchgrass Trail, about 0.5 mi (0.80 km) from campground B-Loop. | 0.7 mi (1.1 km) |
Heppe Ice Cave | Leads into Heppe Cave. | Located on the road to Mammoth Crater, 2.2 mi (3.5 km) from the main park road. | 0.4 mi (0.64 km) |
Big Nasty Trail | Named after a rough lava area covered by brush, described as "big and nasty". | Starts on Mammoth Crater rim, on the Hidden Valley pullout. | 1 mi (1.6 km) |
Schonchin Butte Trail | Steep trail, has a 500-foot elevation gain and leads to the lookout building | Located on Schonchin Butte | 0.9 mi (1.4 km) |
Symbol Bridge Trail | Winds past interesting lava tube structures and other geological features | On the first parking area of Skull Cave road, across from the Missing Link Trail | Windy 0.75 mi (1.21 km) |
Black Crater and Thomas-Wright Battlefield Trail | Combines volcanism and history. Within season leads around good views of wildflower displays | Within the Thomas-Wright Battlefield memorial | 0.3 mi (0.48 km) to the Crater, then 1.2 mi (1.9 km) |
Gillem Bluff | Climbs to the top of Gillem Bluff for a view of Gillem's Camp. Has a 550-foot elevation gain. | Gillem Bluff | 0.7 mi (1.1 km) |
Captain Jack's Stronghold Trail | A rough terrain loop trail with two self-guided interpretive areas through the heart of the Modoc War historical battlefield. | Captain Jack's Stronghold 41°49′18″N121°30′18″W / 41.82167°N 121.50500°W | Inner loop: .6 mi (0.97 km). Outer loop: 1.1 mi (1.8 km) |
Petroglyph Point Trail | Impressive view of the basin and the Medicine Lake Volcano. | Northeast side of Petroglyph Point about .3 mi (0.48 km) beyond the bulletin board. | 1.6 mi (2.6 km) |
Long trails | |||
Three Sisters Trail | Loops out into the wilderness and returns to Skull Cave Road. | Trailhead at the campground from A-Loop | 8.8 mi (14.2 km) |
Lyons Trail | Crosses the wilderness area on a north–south axis between Skull Cave parking area and Hospital Rock on the North Boundary Road. | Skull Cave parkinglot | 9.8 mi (15.8 km) |
Whitney Butte Trail | Crosses the wilderness in an east–west direction around Whitney Butte. Has best view of Mount Shasta and Callahan lava flow | Trailhead at the Merrill Cave parking area. | 3.3 mi (5.3 km) |
Schonchin Butte is a cinder cone on the northern flank of Medicine Lake Volcano in the Cascade Range in northern California. Frothy lava, cooled in the air, created the large cinder cones throughout Lava Beds National Monument. It is named for Old Schonchin, a chief of the Modoc people during the late nineteenth century. Erupting more than 30,000 years ago, the volcano spewed ash and cinders into the air much like a can of soda when shaken. A lava spatter rampart is at the very top.
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a U.S. national monument and national preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho. It is along US 20, between the small towns of Arco and Carey, at an average elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level.
Lassen Volcanic National Park is a national park of the United States in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range. Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the few areas in the world where all four types of volcanoes can be found: plug dome, shield, cinder cone, and stratovolcano.
The Lassen volcanic area presents a geological record of sedimentation and volcanic activity in and around Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California, U.S. The park is located in the southernmost part of the Cascade Mountain Range in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Pacific Oceanic tectonic plates have plunged below the North American Plate in this part of North America for hundreds of millions of years. Heat and molten rock from these subducting plates has fed scores of volcanoes in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia over at least the past 30 million years, including these in the Lassen volcanic areas.
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. Newberry is the largest volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with 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.
Mount Jefferson is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, part of the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. The second highest mountain in Oregon, it is situated within Linn County, Jefferson County, and Marion County and forms part of the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. Due to the ruggedness of its surroundings, the mountain is one of the hardest volcanoes to reach in the Cascades. It is also a popular tourist destination despite its remoteness, with recreational activities including hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, and photography. Vegetation at Mount Jefferson is dominated by Douglas fir, silver fir, mountain hemlock, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and several cedar species. Carnivores, insectivores, bats, rodents, deer, birds, and various other species inhabit the area.
Mount Thielsen, is an extinct shield volcano in the Oregon High Cascades, near Mount Bailey. Because eruptive activity ceased 250,000 years ago, glaciers have heavily eroded the volcano's structure, creating precipitous slopes and a horn-like peak. The spire-like shape of Thielsen attracts lightning strikes and creates fulgurite, an unusual mineral. The prominent horn forms a centerpiece for the Mount Thielsen Wilderness, a reserve for recreational activities such as skiing and hiking. Thielsen is one of Oregon's Matterhorns.
Mount Mazama is a complex volcano in the western U.S. state of Oregon, in a segment of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and Cascade Range. The volcano is in Klamath County, in the southern Cascades, 60 miles (97 km) north of the Oregon–California border. Its collapse, due to the eruption of magma emptying the underlying magma chamber, formed a caldera that holds Crater Lake. Mount Mazama originally had an elevation of 12,000 feet (3,700 m), but following its climactic eruption this was reduced to 8,157 feet (2,486 m). Crater Lake is 1,943 feet (592 m) deep, the deepest freshwater body in the U.S. and the second deepest in North America after Great Slave Lake in Canada.
Mount Washington is a deeply eroded volcano in the Cascade Range of Oregon. It lies within Deschutes and Linn counties and is surrounded by the Mount Washington Wilderness area.
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.
Mount McLoughlin is a dormant steep-sided stratovolcano, or composite volcano, in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon and within the United States Sky Lakes Wilderness. It is one of the volcanic peaks in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, within the High Cascades sector. A prominent landmark for the Rogue River Valley, the mountain is north of Mount Shasta, and south-southeast of Crater Lake. It was named around 1838 after John McLoughlin, a Chief Factor for the Hudson's Bay Company. Mount McLouglin's prominence has made it a landmark to Native American populations for thousands of years.
Indian Heaven is a volcanic field in Skamania County in the state of Washington, in the United States. Midway between Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams, the field dates from the Pleistocene to the early Holocene epoch. It trends north to south and is dominated by six small shield volcanoes; these shields are topped by small spatter and cinder cones, and the field includes a number of subglacial volcanoes and tuyas. The northernmost peak in the field is Sawtooth Mountain and the southernmost is Red Mountain; its highest point is Lemei Rock at an elevation of 5,925 feet (1,806 m).
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.
Lava Butte is a cinder cone in central Oregon, United States, just west of U.S. Route 97 between the towns of Bend, and Sunriver in Deschutes County. It is part of a system of small cinder cones on the northwest flank of Newberry Volcano, a massive shield volcano which rises to the southeast. The cinder cone is capped by a crater which extends about 60 feet (20 m) deep beneath its south rim, and 160 feet (50 m) deep from the 5,020-foot (1,530 m) summit on its north side. Lava Butte is part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
Diamond Peak is a volcano in Klamath and Lane counties of central Oregon in the United States. It is a shield volcano, though it might also be considered a modest stratocone. Diamond Peak forms part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a segment of the Cascade Range in western North America extending from southern British Columbia through Oregon to Northern California. Reaching an elevation of 8,748 feet (2,666 m), the mountain is located near Willamette Pass in the Diamond Peak Wilderness within the Deschutes and Willamette national forests. Surrounded by coniferous forest and visible in the skyline from foothills near Eugene, Diamond Peak offers a few climbing routes and can be scrambled. Diamond Peak is one of Oregon's Matterhorns.
Black Crater is a shield volcano in the Western Cascades in Deschutes County, Oregon. Located near McKenzie Pass, the volcano has a broad conical shape with gentle slopes. The volcano likely formed during the Pleistocene and has not been active within the last 50,000 years. Eruptive activity at the volcano produced mafic lava flows made of basaltic andesite and olivine basalt; it also formed a number of cinder cones. A normal fault occurs on the western side of the volcano, trending north–south. The volcano has been eroded by glaciers, which carved a large cirque into the northeastern flank of the mountain, forming its current crater.
Pelican Butte is a steep-sided shield volcano in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon. It is located 28 miles (45 km) due south of Crater Lake and 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Mount McLoughlin. Pelican Butte is the most prominent shield volcano in the southern Oregon Cascades and has a large volume at 4.8 cubic miles (20 km3), making it one of the bigger Quaternary volcanoes in the region, approaching the size of some of the range's stratovolcanoes. While still part of the Cascades, Pelican Butte is disconnected from the main axis, forming above faults along the eastern border of the range. Pelican Butte is part of the Quaternary Mount McLoughlin Reach, a volcanic vent zone that runs from the volcano to Aspen Lake, encompassing 33 vents over an area of 357 square miles (925 km2). Ice age glaciers carved a large cirque into the northeast flank of the mountain, but despite this erosion, its original shape is largely preserved. Several proposals have been made over the last few decades for the development of a ski area on this flank, but none have been implemented.
The Albuquerque volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field in the Albuquerque Basin in New Mexico, United States. It is located about 7 miles (11 km) west of the city of Albuquerque, and is contained within the borders of Petroglyph National Monument. The field was active from 190,000 to 155,000 years ago and includes lava flows, cinder cones, and spatter cones. The oldest lava flows cover about 23 square miles (60 km2). The cones are aligned and possibly formed above two roughly north-south trending fissures. Vulcan is the highest feature. Its base is made of cinder, but the crater contains a lava dome that was cut by an explosive eruption.
Trout Creek Hill is a small Pleistocene basaltic shield volcano in Washington, United States. Located in Skamania County, Trout Creek Hill rises to an elevation of 2,946 feet (898 m). It is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, located in the Marble Mountain-Trout Creek Hill volcanic field.