Yellowstone hotspot
millions of years | |
Country | United States |
---|---|
State | Idaho/Wyoming |
Region | Rocky Mountains |
Coordinates | 44°26′N 110°40′W / 44.43°N 110.67°W |
The Yellowstone hotspot is a
Snake River Plain
The eastern Snake River Plain is a topographic depression that cuts across
The central Snake River plain is similar to the eastern plain, but differs by having thick sections of interbedded
Nevada–Oregon calderas
Although the McDermitt volcanic field on the Nevada–Oregon border is frequently shown as the site of the initial impingement of the Yellowstone Hotspot, new geochronology and mapping demonstrates that the area affected by this mid-Miocene volcanism is significantly larger than previously appreciated.[2] Three silicic calderas have been newly identified in northwest Nevada, west of the McDermitt volcanic field as well as the Virgin Valley Caldera.[3] These calderas, along with the Virgin Valley Caldera and McDermitt Caldera, are interpreted to have formed during a short interval 16.5–15.5 million years ago, in the waning stage of the Steens flood basalt volcanism.[4] The northwest Nevada calderas have diameters ranging from 15 to 26 km and deposited high temperature rhyolite ignimbrites over approximately 5000 km2.
As the hotspot drifted beneath what is now Nevada and Oregon, it increased ecological beta diversity locally by fragmenting previously connected habitats and increasing topographic diversity in western North America.[5]
The
Volcanic fields
Twin Falls and Picabo volcanic fields
The Twin Falls and Picabo volcanic fields were active about 10 million years ago. The Picabo Caldera was notable for producing the Arbon Valley Tuff 10.2 million years ago.
Heise volcanic field
The Heise volcanic field of eastern Idaho produced explosive caldera-forming eruptions which began 6.6 million years ago and lasted for more than 2 million years, sequentially producing four large-volume rhyolitic eruptions. The first three caldera-forming rhyolites – Blacktail Tuff, Walcott Tuff and Conant Creek Tuff – totaled at least 2250 km3 of erupted magma. The final, extremely voluminous, caldera-forming eruption – the Kilgore Tuff – which erupted 1800 km3 of ash, occurred 4.5 million years ago.[6][7][8][9][10]
Yellowstone Plateau
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2013) |
The
Of the many calderas formed by the Yellowstone Hotspot, including the later Yellowstone Caldera, the Henry's Fork Caldera is the only one that is currently clearly visible. The Henry's Fork of the Snake River flows through the Henry's Fork Caldera and drops out at Upper and Lower Mesa Falls. The caldera is bounded by the Ashton Hill on the south, Big Bend Ridge and Bishop Mountain on the west, by Thurburn Ridge on the North and by Black Mountain and the Madison Plateau on the east. The Henry's Fork caldera is in an area called Island Park. Harriman State Park is situated in the caldera.
The Island Park Caldera is older and much larger than the Henry's Fork Caldera with approximate dimensions of 58 miles (93 km) by 40 miles (64 km). It is the source of the
Both the Heise and Yellowstone volcanic fields produced a series of caldera-forming eruptions characterised by magmas with so-called "normal" oxygen isotope signatures (with heavy
Eruptive history
- Wapi Lava field and King's Bowl blowout, northeast of Rupert, Idaho; 2.270 ka ±0.15. (2,270 years ago)[15]
- Idaho Falls; 3.250 ka ±0.15. (3,250 years ago)[16]
- Shoshone lava field, North of Twin Falls, Idaho; 8.400 ka ±0.3.[17]
- Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve; Great Rift of Idaho; the lava field was formed during eight eruptive episodes between about 15 and 2 ka.[18]
- Kings Bowl and Wapi lava fields formed about 2.250 ka.[19]
- Yellowstone Caldera; between 70 and 150 ka; 1,000 cubic kilometers (239.9 cu mi) intracaldera rhyolitic lava flows.[11]
- Yellowstone Park
- VEI 8; more than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cu mi) of Lava Creek Tuff.[11]
- Henry's Fork Caldera (size: 16 km wide); 1.3 Ma; VEI 7; 280 cubic kilometers (67.2 cu mi) of Mesa Falls Tuff.[11]
- Island Park Caldera (size: 100 x 50 km); 2.1 Ma; VEI 8; 2,450 cubic kilometers (588 cu mi) of Huckleberry Ridge Tuff.[11][20]
- Heise volcanic field, Idaho:
- Kilgore Caldera (size: 80 x 60 km); VEI 8; 1,800 cubic kilometers (432 cu mi) of Kilgore Tuff; 4.45 Ma ±0.05.[6][20]
- 4.49 Ma tuff of Heise[21]
- 5.37 Ma tuff of Elkhorn Springs[20]
- 5.51 Ma ±0.13 (Conant Creek Tuff)[6] (but Anders (2009): 5.94 Ma)[21]
- 5.6 Ma; 500 cubic kilometers (120 cu mi) of Blue Creek Tuff.[20]
- 5.81 Ma tuff of Wolverine Creek[21]
- 6.27 Ma ±0.04 (Walcott Tuff).[6]
- 6.57 Ma tuff of Edie School[21]
- Blacktail Caldera (size: 100 x 60 km); 6.62 Ma ±0.03; 1,500 cubic kilometers (360 cu mi) of Blacktail Tuff.[6][20]
- 7.48 Ma tuff of America Falls[21]
- 8.72 Ma Grey's landing Ignimbrite; VEI 8. At least 2,800 cubic kilometers (672 cu mi) of volcanic material.[22]
- 8.75 Ma tuff of Lost River Sinks[21]
- 8.99 Ma, McMullen Supereruption; VEI 8. At least 1,700 cubic kilometers (408 cu mi) of volcanic material.[22]
- 9.17 Ma tuff of Kyle Canyon[21]
- 9.34 Ma tuff of Little Chokecherry Canyon[21]
- Twin Falls volcanic field, Twin Falls County, Idaho; 8.6 to 10 Ma.[21]
- Picabo volcanic field, Picabo, Idaho; 10.09 Ma (Arbon Valley Tuff A) and 10.21 Ma ±0.03 (Arbon Valley Tuff B).[6][21]
- Bruneau-Jarbidge volcanic field, Bruneau River/ Jarbidge River, Idaho; 10.0 to 12.5 Ma; Ashfall Fossil Beds eruption.[21]
- Owyhee-Humboldt volcanic field, Owyhee County, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon; around 12.8 to 13.9 Ma.[21]
- McDermitt volcanic field, Orevada rift, McDermitt, Nevada/ Oregon (five overlapping and nested calderas; satellitic to these are two additional calderas), 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi):[23]
- Trout Creek Mountains, East of the Pueblo Mountains, Whitehorse Caldera (size: 15 km wide), Oregon; 15 Ma; 40 cubic kilometers (10 cu mi) of Whitehorse Creek Tuff.[20][24]
- Jordan Meadow Caldera, (size: 10–15 km wide); 15.6 Ma; 350 cubic kilometers (84 cu mi) Longridge Tuff member 2–3.[20][21][24][25]
- Longridge Caldera, (size: 33 km wide); 15.6 Ma; 400 cubic kilometers (96 cu mi) Longridge Tuff member 5.[20][21][24][25]
- Calavera Caldera, (size: 17 km wide); 15.7 Ma; 300 cubic kilometers (72 cu mi) of Double H Tuff.[20][21][24][25]
- Trout Creek Mountains, Pueblo Caldera (size: 20 x 10 km), Oregon; 15.8 Ma; 40 cubic kilometers (10 cu mi) of Trout Creek Mountains Tuff.[20][24][23]
- Hoppin Peaks Caldera, 16 Ma; Hoppin Peaks Tuff.[23]
- Washburn Caldera, (size: 30 x 25 km wide), Oregon; 16.548 Ma; 250 cubic kilometers (60 cu mi) of Oregon Canyon Tuff.[20][24][25]
- Yellowstone hotspot (?), Lake Owyhee volcanic field; 15.0 to 15.5 Ma.[26]
- Yellowstone hotspot (?), Northwest Nevada volcanic field, Virgin Valley, High Rock, Hog Ranch, and unnamed calderas; West of the Pine Forest Range, Nevada; 15.5 to 16.5 Ma; Tuffs: Idaho Canyon, Ashdown, Summit Lake, and Soldier Meadow.[3][27][28][29][30]
- Columbia River Basalt Province: Yellowstone hotspot sets off a huge pulse of volcanic activity, the first eruptions were near the Oregon-Idaho-Washington border. Columbia River and Steens flood basalts, Pueblo, and Malheur Gorge-region, Pueblo Mountains, Steens Mountain, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho; most vigorous eruptions were from 14 to 17 Ma; 180,000 cubic kilometers (43,184 cu mi) of lava.[20][31][32][4][33][34][35][36]
- Crescent volcanics, Olympic Peninsula/ southern Vancouver Island, 50–60 Ma.[42]
- Siletz River Volcanics, Oregon Coast Range, a sequence of basaltic pillow lavas.
- Carmacks Group, Yukon, 63,000 square kilometers (24,324 sq mi), 70 Ma.[43][44][45]
Notes
- Lake Owyhee), Jordan Craters, Santa Rosa – Calico volcanic field, Hawkes Valley – Lone Mountain volcanic field, Northwest Nevada volcanic field, Juniper Mountain caldera complex, and Silver City – Delamar caldera complex (Silver City, Idaho) are nested in one area. Geologic landmarks of the area: Steens Mountain, Northern Nevada Rift, Midas Trough, Santa Rosa Mountains, Bull Run – Tuscarora Mountains, Owyhee Mountains, Oregon-Idaho Graben, and western Snake River Plain.[37]
- Other manifestations of the Yellowstone hotspot: Rexburg Volcanic Field (4.3 Ma), West of Henry's Lake; Blackfoot Volcanic Field (3 Ma), Northwest of Soda Springs, Idaho; Gem Valley Volcanic Field (600 to 50 ka), near Grace, Idaho.[46]
- The initial volcanism is part of the Basin and Range Province and the Oregon-Idaho graben (15.0 to 15.5 Ma).
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming". USGS. Archived from the original on 2005-03-24.
- S2CID 64719108.
- ^ .
- ^ .
- . Retrieved 30 November 2022.
- ^ doi:10.1130/B25519.1.
- ^ Robert J. Fleck; Ted G. Theodore; Andrei Sarna-Wojcicki & Charles E. Meyer (1998). Richard M. Tosdal (ed.). "Chapter 12, Age and possible source of air-fall tuffs of the Miocene Carlin Formation, Northern Nevada" (PDF). Contributions to the Gold Metallogeny of Northern Nevada, Open-File Report 98-338. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- ^ Christiansen, R.L. (2001). "The Quaternary and Pliocene Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana". U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper. 729: 146.
- .
- ^ Pierce, K.L. & Morgan, L.A. (1992). Link, P.K.; Kuntz, M.A. & Platt, L.B. (eds.). "The track of the Yellowstone hot spot: Volcanism, faulting, and uplift". Regional Geology of Eastern Idaho and Western Wyoming. Memoir 179: 1–52.
- ^ a b c d e "Yellowstone". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ^ Kathryn Watts (Nov 2007) GeoTimes "Yellowstone and Heise: Supervolcanoes that Lighten Up": Kathryn E. Watts, Ilya N. Bindeman and Axel K. Schmitt (2011) Petrology, Vol. 52, No. 5, "Large-volume Rhyolite Genesis in Caldera Complexes of the Snake River Plain: Insights from the Kilgore Tuff of the Heise Volcanic Field, Idaho, with Comparison to Yellowstone and Bruneau-Jarbidge Rhyolites" pp. 857–890).
- ^ "Discovery of Two Ancient Yellowstone Super-Eruptions, Including the Volcanic Province's Largest and Most Cataclysmic Event, Indicates the Yellowstone Hotspot Is Waning". 5 June 2020.
- ^ "Yellowstone National Park Earthquake listings". Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- ^ "The Great Rift Zone". Digital Atlas of Idaho.
- ^ "Hell's Half Acre". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
- ^ "Black Butte Crater Lava Field". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ^ "Craters of the Moon". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ^ "Wapi Lava Field". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ^ .
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Mark H. Anders. "Yellowstone hotspot track". Columbia University, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO). Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ doi:10.1130/G47384.1. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ doi:10.1029/JB089iB10p08616. Archived from the originalon 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ .
- ^ a b c d Steve Ludington; Dennis P. Cox; Kenneth W. Leonard & Barry C. Moring (1996). Donald A. Singer (ed.). "Chapter 5, Cenozoic Volcanic Geology in Nevada". An Analysis of Nevada's Metal-Bearing Mineral Resources. Archived from the original on 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ Rytuba, J.J.; John, D.A.; McKee, E.H. (May 3–5, 2004). "Volcanism Associated with Eruption of the Steens Basalt and Inception of the Yellowstone Hotspot". Rocky Mountain (56th Annual) and Cordilleran (100th Annual) Joint Meeting. Paper No. 44-2. Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- ^ Noble, D.C. (1988). "Cenozoic volcanic rocks of the northwestern Great Basin: an overview". Spring Field Trip Guidebook, Special Publication No. 7: 31–42.
- .
- .
- ^ Matthew E. Brueseke & William K. Hart (2008). "Geology and Petrology of the Mid-Miocene Santa Rosa-Calico Volcanic Field, Northern Nevada" (PDF). Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. Bulletin 113: 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-07.
- ^ Carson, Robert J.; Pogue, Kevin R. (1996). Flood Basalts and Glacier Floods:Roadside Geology of Parts of Walla Walla, Franklin, and Columbia Counties, Washington. Washington State Department of Natural Resources (Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources Information Circular 90).
- S2CID 12587046.
- ^ "Southeast Oregon Basin and Range". SummitPost.org.
- ^ "Andesitic and basaltic rocks on Steens Mountain". USGS.
- .
- ^ "Oregon: A Geologic History. 8. Columbia River Basalt: the Yellowstone hot spot arrives in a flood of fire". Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- ^ a b c "High Lava Plains Project, Geophysical & Geological Investigation, Understanding the Causes of Continental Intraplate Tectonomagmatism: A Case Study in the Pacific Northwest". Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington. Archived from the original on 2010-06-18. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- ^ Tolan, T.L.; Reidel, S.P.; Beeson, M.H.; Anderson, J.L.; Fecht, K.R. & Swanson, D.A. (1989). Reidel, S.P. & Hooper, P.R. (eds.). Revisions to the estimates of the areal extent and volume of the Columbia River Basalt Group. Geological Society of America Special Papers. Vol. 239. Geol. Soc. Amer. Spec. Paper. pp. 1–20. )
- .
- .
- ^ Hart, W.K. & Carlson, R.W. (1985). "Distribution and geochronology of Steens Mountain-type basalts from the northwestern Great Basin". Isochron/West. 43: 5–10.
- doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(03)00022-2. Archived from the original(PDF) on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0997:YIYTLC>2.3.CO;2. Archived from the original(PDF) on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
- .
- ^ "O Ma large mafic magmatic events". www.largeigneousprovinces.org. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
- ^ "Snake River Plain-Yellowstone Hot Spot Migration" (PDF). Idaho Geological Survey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
Map references
- Mark H. Anders. "Yellowstone hotspot track". Columbia University, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO). Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- "Map of Nevada" (PDF). Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, University of Nevada (NBMG). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-10-21. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
- "Shaded relief map of the northwestern United States" (PDF). Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, University of Nevada (NBMG). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
Further reading
- Smith, Robert B.; Jordan, Michael; Steinberger, Bernhard; Puskas, Christine M.; Farrell, Jamie; Waite, Gregory P.; Husen, Stephan; Chang, Wu-Lung; O'Connell, Richard (20 November 2009). "Geodynamics of the Yellowstone hotspot and mantle plume: Seismic and GPS imaging, kinematics and mantle flow" (PDF). Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 188 (1–3): 26–56. .
- DeNosaquo, Katrina R.; Smith, Robert B.; Lowry, Anthony R. (20 November 2009). "Density and lithospheric strength models of the Yellowstone-Snake River Plain volcanic system from gravity and heat flow data". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 188 (1–3): 108–127. .
- Farrell, Jamie; Husen, Stephan; Smith, Robert B. (20 November 2009). "Earthquake swarm and b-value characterization of the Yellowstone volcano-tectonic system". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 188 (1–3): 260–276. .
- Perkins, Michael E.; Nash, Barbara P. (March 2002). "Explosive silicic volcanism of the Yellowstone hotspot: the ash fall tuff record". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 114 (3): 367–381. .
- Puskas, C.M.; Smith, R.B.; Meertens, C.M.; Chang, W.L. (2007). "Crustal deformation of the Yellowstone-Snake River Plain volcanic system: campaign and continuous GPS observations, 1987–2004". Journal of Geophysical Research. 112 (B03401): B03401. .
- Huang, Hsin-Hua; Lin, Fan-Chi; Schmandt, Brandon; Farrell, Jamie; Smith, Robert B.; Tsai, Victor C. (15 May 2015). "The Yellowstone magmatic system from the mantle plume to the upper crust" (PDF). Science. 348 (6236): 773–776. S2CID 3070257.
External links
- Yellowstone hotspot interactive Archived 2011-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
- National Park Service interactive map showing trace of the hotspot over time
- The Yellowstone magmatic system from the mantle plume to the upper crust (46,000 km3 magma reservoir below chamber)