Distribution of Upper Cenozoic Volcanoes and Volcanic Rocks in the Western United States


Aerial view looking west to Sunset Crater, one of the youngest volcanic vents in the western United States. Photography by Wendell Duffield, U.S. Geological Survey.

Over the last 15 million years at least 112 volcanic centers have been active in the western United States. The following pages provide maps of the distribution of these volcanic centers. The volcanic centers are numbered in each state (on the first map) and the names of the volcanic centers are given in tables below. The maps are divided into three time periods:

  • 0-5 Million Years
  • 5-10 Million Years
  • 10-15 Million Years

    These maps are based on the work of two U.S. Geological Survey geologists: R.G. Luedke, and R.L. Smith. References for their work are given below.

    The distribution of these volcanoes defined the potentially active volcanic lineaments and loci in the western conterminous United States.

    Many of these volcanic centers are described in Volcanoes of the World (United States).

    Total number of vents according to rock type and time periods during the last 5 million years. Age (years)

    Age (years)

    Basanite

    Basalt

    Andesite

    Dacite

    Rhyolite

    Total

    5 million

    372

    3984

    142

    156

    313

    4967

    1 million

    301

    1517

    69

    51

    227

    2165

    1,000,000-100,000

    284

    845

    36

    49

    100

    1314

    100,000-

    10,000

    9

    537

    27

    2

    101

    676

    10,000-1,000

    4

    130

    6

    0

    24

    24

    1,000-

    100

    4

    5

    0

    0

    2

    11

    Note: Exclusive of the Cascade Zone.
    From Smith and Luedke (1984).

    Sources of data: Luedke and Smith (1978a, 1978b, 1981, 1982, 1983).

    Volcanic centers by state:

    Arizona

    California

    Colorado

    Idaho

    Montana

    Nevada

    New Mexico

    Oregon

    Utah

    Wyoming

     

    Arizona

    1.

    Western Grand Canyon

    2.

    San Francisco Mountains

    3.

    Mormon Mountain

    4.

    Hackberry Mountain

    5.

    Spotted Mountain

    6.

    Springerville

    7.

    Sentinel

    8.

    Florence

    9.

    San Carlos

    10.

    Raven Butte

    11.

    Pinacate

    12.

    Rucker School

    13.

    Bernardino

    14.

    Yuma Wash

    California

    1.

    Medicine Lake

    		  

    2.

    Tuledad Canyon

    		  

    3.

    Eagle Lake

    		  

    4.

    Black Butte Lake

    		  

    5.

    Chilcoot

    		  

    6.

    Sutter Buttes

    		  

    7.

    Clear Lake - Sonoma

    		  

    8.

    Jackson Buttes

    		  

    9.

    Ebbetts

    		  

    10.

    Mono-Long Valley

    		  

    11.

    Santa Clara (No.&So.)

    		  

    12.

    Monarch Divide

    		  

    13.

    Big Pine

    		  

    14.

    Saline Range

    		  

    15.

    Kern

    		  

    16.

    Coso

    		  

    17.

    Greenwater Range

    		  

    18.

    Death Valley

    		  

    19.

    Lava Mountain

    		  

    20.

    Cima

    		  

    21.

    Amboy-Pisgah

    		  

    22.

    Goffs

    		  

    23.

    Stepladder

    		  

    24.

    Eagle Mountains

    		  

    25.

    Salton Sea

    		  

    26.

    Black Mountain

    		  

    Colorado

    1.

    Eagle

    2.

    Woody Creek

    3.

    Specie Mesa

    Idaho

    1.

    East Snake River Plain

    2.

    Central Snake River Plain

    3.

    West Snake River Plain

    4.

    Pocatello

    5.

    Blackfoot

    6.

    Oneida

    Montana

    1.

    Sweetwater basin

    2.

    Soap Creek

    Nevada

    1.

    Sheldon-Antelope

    		  

    2.

    Seven Troughs

    		  

    3.

    West Humboldt

    		  

    4.

    Winnemucca

    		  

    5.

    Battle Mountain

    		  

    6.

    Tahoe

    		  

    7.

    Fallon

    		  

    8.

    Schurz

    		  

    9.

    Table Mountain

    		  

    10.

    Candellaria

    		  

    11.

    Silver Peak

    		  

    12.

    North Pancake

    		  

    13.

    South Pancake

    		  

    14.

    Peak 5476

    		  

    15.

    Timber Mountain

    		  

    16.

    Halfpint

    		  

    17.

    Gold Butte

    		  

    New Mexico

    1.

    Brazos

    		  

    2.

    Taos Plateau

    		  

    3.

    Raton

    		  

    4.

    Mora

    		  

    5.

    Jemez Mountains

    		  

    6.

    Mount Taylor

    		  

    7.

    Zuni-Bandera

    		  

    8.

    Puertocito

    		  

    9.

    Albuquerque

    		  

    10.

    Quemado

    		  

    11.

    Socorro

    		  

    12.

    Mesa Redonda

    		  

    13.

    Carrizozo

    		  

    14.

    Jornada

    		  

    15.

    Paxton Siding

    		  

    16.

    Hermanas

    		  

    17.

    Potrillo

    		  

    18.

    Scott Peak

    		  

    Oregon

    1.

    Beech Creek

    2.

    Crooked River

    3.

    South John Day

    4.

    Bear Valley

    5.

    Logan Valley

    6.

    Newberry-Malheur

    7.

    Yamsay Mountain

    8.

    Tenmile Butte

    9.

    North Sheep Rock

    10.

    Jordan Valley

    11.

    Drake Pass

    Utah

    1.

    Wildcat Hills

    		  

    2.

    Bear Lake

    		  

    3.

    Gray Back Mountain

    		  

    4.

    Gold Hill

    		  

    5.

    Honeyconb Hills

    		  

    6.

    Fumarole Butte

    		  

    7.

    Mineral-Black Rock

    		  

    8.

    Loa

    		  

    9.

    Escalante

    		  

    10.

    Enterprise

    		  

    11.

    Kolob

    		  

    12.

    Kanab

    		  

    Wyoming

    1.

    Yellowstone

    2.

    Crescent

    3.

    Leucite Hills

    Sources of Information:

    Luedke, R.G, and Smith, R.L., 1978a, Map showing the distribution, composition, and age of Late Cenozoic volcanic centers in Arizona and New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Misc. Invest. Ser. Map I-1091-A.

    Luedke, R.G, and Smith, R.L., 1978b, Map showing the distribution, composition, and age of Late Cenozoic volcanic centers in Colorado, Utah, and southwestern Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Misc. Invest. Ser. Map I-1091-B.

    Luedke, R.G, and Smith, R.L., 1981, Map showing the distribution, composition, and age of Late Cenozoic volcanic centers in California and Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Misc. Invest. Ser. Map I-1091-C.

    Luedke, R.G, and Smith, R.L., 1982, Map showing the distribution, composition, and age of Late Cenozoic volcanic centers in Oregon and Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Misc. Invest. Ser. Map I-1091-D.

    Luedke, R.G, and Smith, R.L., 1983, Map showing the distribution, composition, and age of Late Cenozoic volcanic centers in Idaho, western Montana, western South Dakota, and northwestern Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Misc. Invest. Ser. Map I-1091-E.

    Smith, R.L., and Luedke, R.G., 1984, Potentially active volcanic lineaments and loci in western conterminous United States, in Explosive Volcanism: Inception, Evolution, and hazards, National Academy Press, p. 47-66.