Lava Creek Tuff

Last updated
Lava Creek Tuff
Tuff cliff yellowstone national park.jpg
Tuff Cliff showing the Lava Creek Tuff formation
Volcano Yellowstone Caldera
DateAround 630,000 years ago
Type Ignimbrite-forming
Location Wyoming, United States
44°24′N110°42′W / 44.400°N 110.700°W / 44.400; -110.700
Volume>1,000 km3 (240 cu mi)
VEI 8
LavaCreekTuff.jpg
Extent of the Lava Creek ash bed

The Lava Creek Tuff is a voluminous sheet of ash-flow tuff located in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, United States. It was created during the Lava Creek eruption around 630,000 years ago, which led to the formation of the Yellowstone Caldera. This eruption is considered the climactic event of Yellowstone's third volcanic cycle. The Lava Creek Tuff covers an area of more than 7,500 km2 (2,900 sq mi) centered around the caldera and has an estimated magma volume of 1,000 km3 (240 cu mi).

Contents

The fallout from the eruption blanketed much of North America, depositing as one of the most widespread air-fall pyroclastic layers, formerly known as the Pearlette type O ash bed in the United States and Wascana Creek ash in Canada.

The thick tuff formation resulting from this eruption is well-exposed at various locations within Yellowstone National Park, including Tuff Cliff along the Gibbon River, Virginia Cascade, and along U.S. Highway 20.

Lava Creek Tuff ranges in color from light gray to pale red in some locales. Rock texture of the tuff ranges from fine-grained to aphanitic and is densely welded. The maximum thickness of the tuff layer is approximately 180–200 m (590–660 ft). [1]

Chronology of tuff

Ash flows of the Lava Creek Tuff are divided among six members, informally named unit 1, unit 2, [2] member A and B [3] from bottom to top, with unit 3 and unit 4 having unspecified stratigraphic positions. [4] The emplacement of the Lava Creek Tuff was not instantaneous and continuous, but rather, there were multiple pauses, and the members were erupted at different times. [5] [6] [7] [3]

To date the timings of their eruptions, two common methods of radiometric dating are employed: 40Ar/39Ar on sanidine and U–Pb on zircon. The interpretation of the two techniques differs in that zircon crystallization occurs early and progressively during magma evolution; therefore, U–Pb ages must predate the instantaneous age of volcanic eruption as recorded by sanidine. [8]

Two samples from ignimbrite visually closely similar to unit 1 or 2, the oldest ignimbrite units of the Lava Creek Tuff, have 40Ar/39Ar ages of 634.5±6.8 kyr and 630.9±4.1 kyr. [9] 40Ar/39Ar dating experiments on sanidine from member B have yielded eruption ages of 627.0±1.7 kyr, [10] 631.3±4.3 kyr, [11] and 630.9±2.7. [12]

U–Pb dating for zircon crystals from both the member A and B yields an age of 626.5±5.8 kyr, [13] which is indistinguishable from the 40Ar/39Ar date of sanidine. Another team reported U–Pb ages of 626.0±2.6 kyr and 629.2±4.3 kyr for zircon from member A and member B, respectively. [14]

Petrography

The ignimbrite sheet was formed from rhyolite magma [15] and contains phenocrysts of quartz, sanidine, and subordinate sodic plagioclase, along with minor proportions of magnetite, ilmenite, ferroaugite, fayalite, iron-rich hornblende, zircon, chevkinite, and allanite. [16] However, the abundance of phenocrysts differs between the members. Hornblende is relatively abundant in member A but rare in other members. [17] [2] Unit 3 is distinguished from unit 1 and 2 by higher crystal content and more plagioclase. [6] Member A is distinguished from member B primarily by the presence of the mineral amphibole in the former. [18]

The zircon and phenocrysts rims recorded that the magma of the Lava Creek Tuff was generated from a mix of mantle, Archean crust, and shallow hydrothermally altered intra-caldera rocks. Member A and B were sourced from separate magma reservoirs prior to eruption, [19] at a depth range of 3–6 km (1.9–3.7 mi) [20] and a temperature of 790–815 °C (1,454–1,499 °F). [21] The eruption of member B was probably triggered by a combination of an injection of new silicic magma into the reservoir and volatile exsolution from crystallizing magma. [22]

Eruption

The eruption of the Lava Creek Tuff has been reconstructed through geological analysis of the deposits. Proximal ignimbrite units of member A and B have been studied in detail [23] and correlated with distal air-fall. [24] Meanwhile, the newly identified units 1, 2, 3, and 4 are only known at a few locales, nonetheless, they indicate that the Lava Creek eruption was much more complex than previously thought. [25] [4]

Unit 1 and 2

These ignimbrite units represent the earliest known eruptive events of the Lava Creek episode. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

A caldera is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the structural integrity of such a chamber, greatly diminishing its capacity to support its own roof, and any substrate or rock resting above. The ground surface then collapses into the emptied or partially emptied magma chamber, leaving a large depression at the surface. Although sometimes described as a crater, the feature is actually a type of sinkhole, as it is formed through subsidence and collapse rather than an explosion or impact. Compared to the thousands of volcanic eruptions that occur over the course of a century, the formation of a caldera is a rare event, occurring only a few times within a given window of 100 years. Only eight caldera-forming collapses are known to have occurred between 1911 and 2018, with a caldera collapse at Kīlauea, Hawaii in 2018. Volcanoes that have formed a caldera are sometimes described as "caldera volcanoes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Toba</span> Volcanic Lake located in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

Lake Toba is a large natural lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera of the Toba supervolcano.The lake is located in the middle of the northern part of the island of Sumatra, with a surface elevation of about 900 metres (2,953 ft), the lake stretches from 2.88°N 98.52°E to 2.35°N 99.1°E. The lake is about 100 kilometres long, 30 kilometres (19 mi) wide, and up to 505 metres (1,657 ft) deep. It is the largest lake in Indonesia and the largest volcanic lake in the world. Toba Caldera is one of twenty geoparks in Indonesia, and was recognised in July 2020 as one of the UNESCO Global Geoparks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supervolcano</span> Volcano that has erupted 1000 cubic km of lava in a single eruption

A supervolcano is a volcano that has had an eruption with a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 8, the largest recorded value on the index. This means the volume of deposits for such an eruption is greater than 1,000 cubic kilometers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuff</span> Rock consolidated from volcanic ash

Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock containing 25% to 75% ash is described as tuffaceous. Tuff composed of sandy volcanic material can be referred to as volcanic sandstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellowstone Caldera</span> Volcanic caldera in Yellowstone National Park in the United states

The Yellowstone Caldera, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano, is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the Western United States. The caldera and most of the park are located in the northwest corner of the state of Wyoming. The caldera measures 43 by 28 miles, and postcaldera lavas spill out a significant distance beyond the caldera proper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ignimbrite</span> Type of volcanic rock

Ignimbrite is a type of volcanic rock, consisting of hardened tuff. Ignimbrites form from the deposits of pyroclastic flows, which are a hot suspension of particles and gases flowing rapidly from a volcano, driven by being denser than the surrounding atmosphere. New Zealand geologist Patrick Marshall (1869–1950) coined the term ignimbrite from the Latin igni- [fire] and imbri- [rain].

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop Tuff</span> Volcanic tuff in Inyo and Mono Counties, California, United States

The Bishop Tuff is a welded tuff which formed 764,800 ± 600 years ago as a rhyolitic pyroclastic flow during the approximately six-day eruption that formed the Long Valley Caldera. Large outcrops of the tuff are located in Inyo and Mono Counties, California, United States. Approximately 200 cubic kilometers of ash and tuff erupted outside the caldera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellowstone hotspot</span> Volcanic hotspot in the United States

The Yellowstone hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the United States responsible for large scale volcanism in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Wyoming, formed as the North American tectonic plate moved over it. It formed the eastern Snake River Plain through a succession of caldera-forming eruptions. The resulting calderas include the Island Park Caldera, Henry's Fork Caldera, and the Bruneau-Jarbidge caldera. The hotspot currently lies under the Yellowstone Caldera. The hotspot's most recent caldera-forming supereruption, known as the Lava Creek Eruption, took place 640,000 years ago and created the Lava Creek Tuff, and the most recent Yellowstone Caldera. The Yellowstone hotspot is one of a few volcanic hotspots underlying the North American tectonic plate; another example is the Anahim hotspot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Garita Caldera</span> Large caldera in the state of Colorado, U.S.

La Garita Caldera is a large caldera and extinct supervolcano in the San Juan volcanic field in the San Juan Mountains around the town of Creede in southwestern Colorado, United States. It is west of La Garita, Colorado. The eruption that created the La Garita Caldera is among the largest known volcanic eruptions in Earth's history, as well as being one of the most powerful known supervolcanic events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kneeling Nun Tuff</span> A geologic formation in New Mexico

The Kneeling Nun Tuff is a geologic formation exposed in southwest New Mexico. It has a radiometric age of 35.3 million years, corresponding to the latest Eocene epoch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of volcanism on Earth</span>

This timeline of volcanism on Earth includes a list of major volcanic eruptions of approximately at least magnitude 6 on the Volcanic explosivity index (VEI) or equivalent sulfur dioxide emission during the Quaternary period. Other volcanic eruptions are also listed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fish Canyon Tuff</span>

The Fish Canyon Tuff is the large volcanic ash flow or ignimbrite deposit resulting from one of the largest known explosive eruptions on Earth, estimated at 1,200 cu mi (5,000 km3). (see List of largest volcanic eruptions). The Fish Canyon Tuff eruption was centred at the La Garita Caldera in southwest Colorado; the caldera itself would have formed by collapse, as a result of the eruption. Studies of the tuff show that it all belongs to one eruption due to its uniform bulk-chemical composition (SiO2=bulk 67.5–68.5% (dacite), matrix 75–76% (rhyolite) and consistent phenocryst content (35–50%) and mineralogical composition (plagioclase, sanidine, quartz, biotite, hornblende, sphene, apatite, zircon, Fe-Ti oxides are the primary phenocrysts). This tuff and eruption is part of the larger San Juan volcanic field and the Oligocene Southern Rocky Mountain ignimbrite flare-up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex</span> Complex of volcanic systems in the Puna of the Andes

The Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex, also known as APVC, is a complex of volcanic systems in the Puna of the Andes. It is located in the Altiplano area, a highland bounded by the Bolivian Cordillera Real in the east and by the main chain of the Andes, the Western Cordillera, in the west. It results from the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate. Melts caused by subduction have generated the volcanoes of the Andean Volcanic Belt including the APVC. The volcanic province is located between 21° S–24° S latitude. The APVC spans the countries of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.

Cerro Guacha is a Miocene caldera in southwestern Bolivia's Sur Lípez Province. Part of the volcanic system of the Andes, it is considered to be part of the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ), one of the three volcanic arcs of the Andes, and its associated Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex (APVC). A number of volcanic calderas occur within the latter.

Cerro Chascon-Runtu Jarita is a complex of lava domes located inside, but probably unrelated to, the Pastos Grandes caldera. It is part of the more recent phase of activity of the Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bandelier Tuff</span> A geologic formation in New Mexico

The Bandelier Tuff is a geologic formation exposed in and around the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. It has a radiometric age of 1.85 to 1.25 million years, corresponding to the Pleistocene epoch. The tuff was erupted in a series of at least three caldera eruptions in the central Jemez Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peach Spring Tuff</span> Pyroclastic flow sheet deposit

The Peach Spring Tuff is a pyroclastic flow sheet deposit spanning 32,000 km2 in California, Arizona, and Nevada. The source of the Peach Spring Tuff is the Silver Creek Caldera located outside of Oatman, AZ. The Silver Creek Caldera was found to be a match to the Peach Spring Tuff after an ignimbrite sample from within the caldera matched the phenocryst makeup and age of the Peach Spring Tuff. The caldera eruption is dated to the early Miocene, radiometrically dated to 18.78 +/- 0.02 Ma using argon-argon dating methods on sanidine crystals. The Peach Spring Tuff has a rhyolitic composition with thickness ranging from 10-140 m depending on location. The Peach Spring Tuff is the only geologic evidence of a super-eruption in this region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannegan caldera</span> Geologic caldera in Washington (state)

Hannegan caldera is a 3.72 million year old volcanic collapse structure in the North Cascades of the U.S. state of Washington. The caldera collapsed during two separate volcanic eruptions that produced as much as 140 km3 of rhyolite ash.

References

  1. ↑ "U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 2816" (PDF). Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Wilson, Stelten & Lowenstern 2018, p. 10.
  3. 1 2 Christiansen 2001, p. 26.
  4. 1 2 Yellowstone Volcano Observatory 2023, pp. 24–29.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Stelten & Lowenstern 2018, p. 1.
  6. 1 2 Yellowstone Volcano Observatory 2023, pp. 29.
  7. ↑ Morgan Morzel et al. 2017, p. 11.
  8. ↑ Schmitt et al. 2023, p. 1008.
  9. ↑ Wilson, Stelten & Lowenstern 2018, p. 5.
  10. ↑ Mark et al. 2017, p. 10.
  11. ↑ Matthews, Vazquez & Calvert 2015, p. 2517.
  12. ↑ Jicha, Singer & Sobol 2016, p. 62.
  13. ↑ Matthews, Vazquez & Calvert 2015, p. 2515.
  14. ↑ Wotzlaw et al. 2015, p. 4.
  15. ↑ Christiansen 2001, p. 1.
  16. ↑ Christiansen 2001, p. 31.
  17. ↑ Matthews, Vazquez & Calvert 2015, p. 2509.
  18. ↑ Wilson, Stelten & Lowenstern 2018, p. 2.
  19. ↑ Wotzlaw et al. 2015, p. 6.
  20. ↑ Maguire et al. 2022, p. 1.
  21. ↑ Shamloo & Till 2019, p. 1.
  22. ↑ Shamloo & Till 2019, p. 14.
  23. ↑ Christiansen 2001, p. 26-38.
  24. ↑ Izett, G. A.; Wilcox, R. E. (1982). Map showing localities and inferred distributions of the Huckleberry Ridge, Mesa Falls, and Lava Creek ash beds (Pearlette family ash beds) of Pliocene and Pleistocene age in the western United States and southern Canada (Report). IMAP. Vol. 1325. doi:10.3133/i1325.
  25. ↑ Wilson, Stelten & Lowenstern 2018, pp. 2–10.
  26. ↑ Wilson, Stelten & Lowenstern 2018, pp. 6–7.

Sources


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.