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Belknap Crater

Belknap

Shield volcano · United States · 2094m

The McKenzie Pass area in the central Oregon Cascades contains one of the largest concentrations of recent volcanism in the United States. Belknap shield volcano, seen here from Black Crater to the SE, is capped by a smaller snow-covered cone. Lava flows from Belknap and the smaller Little Belknap shield volcano in front of it cover nearly 100 km2. Most of the largely unvegetated flows were erupted between about 2,900 and 1,500 years ago.
The McKenzie Pass area in the central Oregon Cascades contains one of the largest concentrations of recent volcanism in the United States. Belknap shield volcano, seen here from Black Crater to the SE, is capped by a smaller snow-covered cone. Lava flows from Belknap and the smaller Little Belknap shield volcano in front of it cover nearly 100 km2. Most of the largely unvegetated flows were erupted between about 2,900 and 1,500 years ago. · Photo: Photo by Lee Siebert, 1995 (Smithsonian Institution). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Shield volcano
Country
United States
Region
North America Volcanic Regions / High Cascades Volcanic Arc
Elevation
2094m
Coordinates
44.285, -121.842
Last eruption
475
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Shield
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

The Belknap Crater area near McKenzie Pass in Oregon, north of the Three Sisters volcanoes, was the source of one of the largest concentrations of youthful volcanism in the Cascade Range. The basaltic to basaltic andesite Belknap shield volcano, topped by the Belknap Crater pyroclastic cone and the Little Belknap shield volcano immediately to the east, have produced widespread late Holocene lava flows on all sides, much of which took place between about 3,000 and 1,500 years ago. Eruptions from the NE base of Belknap crater produced lava flows that traveled 15 km W into the McKenzie River valley.

From Wikipedia

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.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
5050 BCE~4853 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1104 BCE~906 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 0709 BCE~512 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 2278~475 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 25050 BCE3669 BCE2287 BCE1104 BCE278

Detailed timeline

  1. 475 (±215 yrs)VEI 2Geological estimate
    475 – Ongoing
    Belknap Crater
  2. 685 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI 2Geological estimate
    BCE 685 – Ongoing
    South Belknap and Twin Craters
  3. 1071 BCE (±241 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 1071 – Ongoing
    Little Belknap
  4. 5050 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 5050 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.