Snake River Volcanic Plain

SUMMARY

Type: volcanic plain
Activity: dormant
Last Eruption: about 2,000 yrs ago
Rock Type: basalt and rhyolite
Eruptive Volume: ?
Location Map from Xerox PARC
Latitude: 42.7 N
Longitude: 113.5 W

Geologic Background:

The Snake River Plain is a long lived band of volcanic vents extending from near the Oregon border to the Yellowstone Plateau. A sequence of progressively younger silicic calderas have been formed beginning near the Oregon-Idhao border some 16 million years ago and ending at the Yellowstone Plateau about 600,000 years ago. Younger basaltic activity has filled most of the calderas leaving a flat plain of low basaltic shields. Some of the features on the plain include:

• Craters of the Moon Volcanic Field
• King's Bowl Rift
• Menan Buttes
• Split Butte
• Wapi Volcanic Field

Historic Activity:

• None

Recent Activity:

• None

Data Sources:

• Volcanoes of the World - Simkin & Siebert
• Volcanoes of North America - Wood & Kienle

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Link to U.S.G.S. - CVO's Snake River Plain Info

Last Update: 1/8/01