Belknap Crater is a
shield volcano
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava ...
in the
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
. Located in
Linn County, it is associated with
lava field
A lava field, sometimes called a lava bed, is a large, mostly flat area of lava flows. Such features are generally composed of highly fluid basalt lava, and can extend for tens or hundreds of kilometers across the underlying terrain.
Morp ...
s and numerous subfeatures including the Little Belknap and South Belknap
volcanic cone
Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...
s. 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.
Belknap was named for J. H. Belknap, whose father R. S. Belknap developed Belknap Springs. Early routes through the area extended near Belknap and its lava fields, and in the early 20th century, herds of sheep were moved to the two steptoes that lie among the Little Belknap lava flows to graze. The Oregon Skyline Trail, which runs to the west of Belknap's lava flows, follows paths used by Native American populations, who harvested huckleberries in the area. Today, there are a number of trails that run near Belknap, including ones that extend to Little Belknap and Belknap Crater. Belknap can be seen by tourists at the
Dee Wright Observatory, which was built in-part with
lava blocks from Belknap Crater.
A precise determination for Belknap's age has not been made, as its early history remains obscure. Belknap has likely been built up by eruptive activity over a long period of time. Belknap Crater has had four Holocene eruptive periods confirmed by geological evidence. In total, the Belknap shield and its multiple vents were formed in less than 1,500 years, its last eruptive episode finishing about 1,500 years ago. Belknap formed on the lower slopes of Mount Washington, a highly eroded volcano, and is one of the larger
mafic
A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include ...
(rich in
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...
and
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
) volcanoes in the Sisters Reach.
Belknap consists of a shield volcano and pyroclastic cone and consists of
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
ic and
basaltic andesite lava with
sub-alkaline composition, and it is characteristic of High Cascade volcanism. Well-preserved, its core is made of
cinder
Cinder or Cinders may refer to:
In general
* Ember, also called cinder
* Ash, also called cinder
* Scoria, or cinder, a type of volcanic rock
In computing
* Cinder (programming library), a C++ programming library for visualization
*Cinder, Ope ...
materials; its eruptive deposits have well-preserved
pressure ridges (tumuli) and
levee
A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...
s. There are a number of subfeatures including the Inaccessible Cones, Little Belknap, South Belknap, and Twin Craters, as well as the Belknap
hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...
s. Postglacial, mafic eruptions are more common in the Sisters Reach — which includes Belknap — than anywhere in the Cascade volcanic arc. However, the
Volcano Hazards Program of the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
considers it unlikely that Belknap will erupt again soon.
Geography
Belknap Crater lies to the north of the
Three Sisters, in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
. Located within
Linn County,
[ it is part of the central Oregon segment of the ]Cascade Range
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...
. L. A. McArthur and L. L. McArthur (1984) described Belknap as "one of the important features of the Cascade Range." It lies to the north of McKenzie Pass and can be seen from McKenzie Highway.
Hildreth (2007) lists Belknap Crater's summit elevation at . McArthur and McArthur (1984) list its elevation at , while according to the U.S. National Geodetic Survey
The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is a United States federal agency based in Washington, D.C. that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication, mapping and charting, and a la ...
, Belknap reaches an elevation of , and has a "bald" appearance. The central Belknap shield volcano has a diameter of [ and a volume of , with a maximum thickness of . The shield has proximal and draping reliefs of , which are the "difference between summit elevation and that of highest exposure of older rocks overlain by the edifice" and the "difference between summit elevation and that of lowest distal lavas of the edifice (not including distal pyroclastic or debris flows)," respectively. According to Hildreth (2007), Belknap Crater is a broad, low-angled shield volcano compared to other ]mafic
A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include ...
(rich in magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...
and iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
) volcanic cones. Belknap's summit cone rises about above the base shield volcano, and the volcano itself rises about above its surroundings.
Oregon Route 242, which follows the course of the McKenzie River, passes through the lava field
A lava field, sometimes called a lava bed, is a large, mostly flat area of lava flows. Such features are generally composed of highly fluid basalt lava, and can extend for tens or hundreds of kilometers across the underlying terrain.
Morp ...
s produced by Belknap Crater, the Yapoah cinder cone
A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep, volcanic cone, conical landform of loose pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic ash, clinkers, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are forme ...
volcano, and a number of other volcanic vents. These fields consist of black, basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
ic lava and encompass an area of .
Ecology
Belknap forms part of the Mount Washington Wilderness, which encompasses of lava and plain
In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...
s. Lodgepole pine
''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...
trees are common, and there are 28 lakes within the wilderness area. Belknap itself is not forested and its lava flow
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
s are generally not vegetated, though there were trees growing on its lava flow deposits in the 1960s according to Taylor (1965). He observed only sparse growth of trees on lava flows from Little Belknap in a report published in the 1980s, noting that soil from Belknap was about thick and made up of lapilli
Lapilli (: lapillus) is a size classification of tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. ''Lapilli'' is Latin for "little stones".
By definition lapilli range from in dia ...
and volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, produced during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to r ...
, which came mostly from Belknap Crater. Along the trail to Little Belknap Crater, there is a tree island with lodgepole pine, mountain hemlock, and true fir
Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...
. There are also ground squirrel
Ground squirrels are rodents of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) that generally live on the ground or in burrows, rather than in trees like the tree squirrels. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones ar ...
s running around on lava flows from Belknap. Along the Oregon Skyline Trail, which passes west of Belknap, there are black-tailed and mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whit ...
as well as lakes stocked with Eastern brook trout
Along the western flows produced by Belknap, there are several dozen tree molds, which range from in diameter and in depth. Some fell into the lava, forming hemi-cylinder
A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...
-shaped trenches up to in length. Taylor (1965) identified a system of radial roots that were charred from the lava under soil at one of the molds. The material underwent radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
to determine an age of 360 ± 160 years A.D.
Geology
The Cascade Range resulted from the subduction
Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere and some continental lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at the convergent boundaries between tectonic plates. Where one tectonic plate converges with a second p ...
of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate under the North American tectonic plate, with the High Cascade subprovince in central Oregon forming about east of the margin of convergence. The High Cascade platform of the Cascade Volcanic Arc
The Cascade Volcanoes (also known as the Cascade Volcanic Arc or the Cascade Arc) are a number of volcanoes in a continental volcanic arc in western North America, extending from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to No ...
consists of overlapping layers of lava flows produced by shield volcano
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava ...
es within the past 2 million years. The Cascade shields are steeper and smaller than Hawaiian shield volcanoes, often featuring cinder cones at their summit.
Belknap is the youngest shield volcano in the Cascade arc by far, with rugged, barren lava fields that contrast with the forested fields of older Cascade shields. It lies within the central Oregon segment of the Cascades near the Three Sisters area, which is marked by closely clustered volcanic centers that include, from south to north, Mount Bachelor, the Three Sisters, and Belknap.
Known as the Sisters Reach, the cluster abruptly broadens first to a width of then to as it approaches its southern end, running for about in length. There are at least 466 Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
volcanoes in the Sisters Reach, including several aligned segments of volcanic vents and rare eruptive units of rhyolite
Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...
(uncommon elsewhere in the Cascade arc). Between the North Sister and Three Fingered Jack volcanoes, Holocene volcanism has been intense, with at least 125 volcanic centers becoming active between 4,000 and 1,300 years ago. Belknap was the last volcano to erupt in the Three Sisters area. Basaltic andesite dominates the eruptive material in the local mafic volcanoes, which range from early Pleistocene to Holocene age.
Belknap is one of the larger mafic volcanoes in the Sisters Reach, more than 30 of which run continuously along the segment. As with other mafic volcanic field
A volcanic field is an area of Earth's Earth's crust, crust that is prone to localized volcano, volcanic activity. The type and number of volcanoes required to be called a "field" is not well-defined. Volcanic fields usually consist of clusters ...
s in and next to the Cascades, it does not exhibit a distinct pattern for compositional evolution over time like at the Hawaii hotspot
The Hawaii hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located near the namesake Hawaiian Islands, in the northern Pacific Ocean. One of the best known and intensively studied hotspots in the world, the Hawaii plume is responsible for the creation of the ...
. The area by Belknap and Mount Bachelor is marked by extensional tectonics
Extensional tectonics is concerned with the structures formed by, and the Tectonics, tectonic processes associated with, the stretching of a planetary body's Crust (geology), crust or lithosphere.
Deformation styles
The types of structure and the ...
, with a high density of mafic (rich in magnesium and iron) volcanic vents. There are clear trends among volcanic centers in the area including at Sand Mountain and Inaccessible Cone, suggesting underlying faults; according to Taylor (1965), Belknap's alignment with the Spatter Cone Chain and Blue Lake Crater might similarly indicate underlying faults or fractures connecting the vents at depth, though there are some irregularities. One important distinction is that almost all vent patterns in the area except the supposed Belknap–Blue Lake alignment individually trend north–south, no matter the alignment of the aggregate trend.
Belknap formed on the lower slopes of Mount Washington, a highly eroded volcano; Mount Washington's pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...
lies about from Belknap. Dissolved magmatic carbon dioxide flux at Mount Washington and Belknap Crater was calculated by James et al. (1999) to be per year. Belknap consists of a shield volcano and pyroclastic cone
Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...
, which form a late Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
shield volcano complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
.[ It is made up of basaltic and basaltic andesite lava,] which is sub-alkaline. Mafic in composition,[ it is characteristic of High Cascade volcanism. In addition to its shield volcano vents, the Belknap complex also consists of lava flows and ]tephra
Tephra is fragmental material produced by a Volcano, volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism.
Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, ...
deposits erupted from one central vent and several other flank vents. Its lava flows encompass about .[ It has a pyroclastic core. The more southern of the two craters on Belknap's summit cone has a depth of and width of more than at its rim.
Belknap is one of three major lava fields in its area with Sand Mountain and Yapoah–Four-in-One–Collier. Of these, Belknap is the largest, encompassing Belknap Crater's shield, Little Belknap, and South Belknap cone. Lava flows in the area have a black and glassy appearance with a ]vesicular texture
Vesicular texture is a volcanic rock texture characterized by a rock being pitted with many cavities (known as vesicles) at its surface and inside.
This texture is common in aphanitic, or glassy, igneous rocks that have come to the surface ...
. The basalt and basaltic andesite lava flows from Belknap include small plagioclase
Plagioclase ( ) is a series of Silicate minerals#Tectosilicates, tectosilicate (framework silicate) minerals within the feldspar group. Rather than referring to a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a continu ...
and olivine
The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron Silicate minerals, silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of Nesosilicates, nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle (Earth), upper mantle, it is a com ...
phenocrysts, which run for across, as well as glomerocrysts, which are sparse and run up to across. Some of the lava flows encased charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...
. Lava flows range from olivine basalt to basaltic andesite and generally show few signs of weathering
Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals (as well as wood and artificial materials) through contact with water, atmospheric gases, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs '' in situ'' (on-site, with little or no move ...
or mineral alteration, with solid cores and outer surfaces with jagged volcanic blocks and flow breccia
Breccia ( , ; ) is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or Rock (geology), rocks cementation (geology), cemented together by a fine-grained matrix (geology), matrix.
The word has its origins in the Italian language ...
. The cores of lava deposits are inaccessible, except at lava tube
A lava tube, more rarely called a pyroduct, is a 'roofed conduit through which molten lava travels away from its vent'. If lava in the tube drains out, it will leave an empty cave. Lava tubes are common in low-viscosity volcanic systems. La ...
s, lava gutters, road cuts, and quarries
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...
.
Belknap is well-preserved and serves as a good example of Holocene-era activity in the High Cascades. Its core consists of cinder
Cinder or Cinders may refer to:
In general
* Ember, also called cinder
* Ash, also called cinder
* Scoria, or cinder, a type of volcanic rock
In computing
* Cinder (programming library), a C++ programming library for visualization
*Cinder, Ope ...
, which is surrounded by a broad shield. It marks an intermediate scale between cinder cones that produced small lava flows such as Twin Craters or Yapoah and larger volcanoes like Mount Washington or Three Fingered Jack. Along with lava flows from the Sand Mountain Volcanic field and other young volcanic centers in the Santiam and McKenzie Pass area, many of the lavas produced by Belknap have crusts with slag
The general term slag may be a by-product or co-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and recycled metals depending on the type of material being produced. Slag is mainly a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. Broadly, it can be c ...
or volcanic blocks, with a smaller number having surfaces with ropy, pāhoehoe appearances. The deposits consist of piles of basaltic andesite shards arranged in piles as a result of collapsed lava tubes and breakage of lava crusts and interior lava flows that continued moving while their exteriors cooled; Taylor (1965) wrote that Belknap "is only a pile of cinders on the summit of a vast shield of recent lava." The estimated volume of cinders at Belknap Crater is .
Belknap's volcanic deposits have well-preserved pressure ridges (tumuli) and levee
A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...
s on their surfaces, and they were emplaced between 7,000 and 1,300 years ago. Tephra erupted from Sand Mountain Volcanic Field and Belknap forms a thick blanket across Santiam Pass and near McKenzie Pass, with radiocarbon dating ages of 3,440 ± 250 to 1,600 years B.P. for deposits from source vents, making them younger than Mazama Ash deposits. Cinder cones near Inaccessible Cone have been nearly buried to completion by basalt and basaltic andesite erupted from Belknap. Belknap's ash deposits are recognizable by their dark color among road cuts and at near the base of lava flow margins.
Notable vents and subfeatures
Little Belknap shield, formed about 3,000 years ago, sits to the right of a high scoria cone of the main Belknap Crater vent, with Mount Washington located to the right of both cones. It is about east of Belknap shield's summit craters. Erupted on the flank of the much more extensive Belknap Crater, which also has its own secondary eruptive vents, Little Belknap lacks scoria cones, potentially because it was fed by magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...
that was degassed prior to its eruption.
Eruptions at Little Belknap were "quiet", but voluminous, creating the separate shield, which is topped with cinders and lava blocks with collapsed lava tubes radiating outward. A western tube forms a confluence with a vertical conduit that has a diameter of about . Little Belknap's lava flows extended to within of Windy Point to the east and McKenzie Pass to the southeast, forming deposits over ash from Belknap Crater and covered by lava flows from Yapoah Cone. Along the Skyline Trail, one of the lava flows from Little Belknap peeled back on itself as it cooled, creating overturned slabs of hardened lava with widths up to and lengths up to . The blocks are often parallel to the lava's flow direction; Taylor (1965) called them "lava curls".
There is a small lava cave
A lava cave is any cave formed in volcanic rock, though it typically means caves formed by volcanic processes, which are more properly termed volcanic caves. Sea caves, and other sorts of erosional and crevice caves, may be formed in volcanic rock ...
system near the summit of Little Belknap, which has spatter material for a roof. The cave system is short with a number of lava tubes. At the bottom of the conduit lies another system of lava tubes, which served as a drain to create a lava tube system with two levels that are connected by this open conduit, which C. E. Skinner (1982) calls "quite unusual." The open vertical conduit cave has a diameter of , dropping between the upper and lower cave systems. It has an ovular shape and a remelted lining with stalactite
A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...
s made from lava.
South Belknap is a small volcano to the south of Belknap, which was breached on its southwestern side by lava flows that also extended over Belknap Crater's southern base. Early lava flows near South Belknap were covered by a later lava flow, which was produced by a vent located about northwestward. This lava flow also overlapped with the western part of Belknap Crater's lava, and then it reached Lake Valley, where it formed the northern shore of the local Hand Lake. A deposit of alluvium
Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
abuts the margin of South Belknap's lava deposits.
On top of Belknap Crater, there is a high cinder cone, which may be the surface extension of the inner pyroclastic core. Within it are three craters, all of different size, which align along a north–northwestern trend. The southern crater is large and produced most of the tephra that covers the surrounding area; the northernmost crater is smaller and erupted ash and a lava flow, which breached the rim of the crater. The Little Belknap volcano erupted lava flows that formed steptoes out of two hills by surrounding them with black, basalt. Its most recent eruptions filled its crater and created a mound of red rock with clinkers; there are a number of collapsed lava tubes diverging radially from the crater.
Besides the volcanic vents related to Belknap Crater, there are two volcanoes south of Belknap which were also recently active: Four-in-One Cone and Collier Cone. Another, unnamed cone at the northern end of Inaccessible Cone's alignment, which rises to a height of , was breached on its western and southwestern sides by gray basalt lava, which is older than Sand Mountain Volcanic Field and Belknap. There may have been a large lava field in the glacier valley north of the Twin Craters cone, but any evidence is now buried under the Belknap shield. There is a glaciated steptoe (island) in the western part of the Belknap lava field. Deposits from Belknap buried older lava flows from the Sand Mountain Volcanic Field as well as a series of four cinder cones located about to the southwest of Mount Washington. There are also deposits from Belknap in the Lake Valley region between Belknap and both Sims Butte and Mount Mazama.
There are hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...
s, known as the Belknap Hot Springs, on the northern bank of the McKenzie River. Located in Lane County, they were discovered by R. S. Belknap in November 1869. They lie to the southwest of the wilderness area, ejecting water at a rate of per minute with a temperature of . The hot springs are indicative of a fault that underlies the Cascade Volcanoes, onto which the east side dropped down and lava intrusions formed volcanic centers.
Eruptive history
Eruptions at Belknap Crater built up the main shield volcano over repeated activity from vents surrounding a composite summit cone. The lava had a fluid character, leading to inundation
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...
of an area that encompassed more than . Rather than forming extensive streams, the lava settled into shorter channels that intersected, leaving complicated drainage patterns. The volcano sits on top of the thick and extensive lava deposits left behind. Belknap Crater has been the focal point for Holocene volcanism producing basaltic and basaltic andesitic lava in its vicinity, which was complex and sustained over a long period of time.
According to the Global Volcanism Program
The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP) documents Earth's volcanoes and their eruptive history during the Quaternary Period of Earth's geologic history, with particular emphasis on volcanic activity during the Holocene Epoc ...
, Belknap Crater had four Holocene eruptive periods confirmed by geological evidence including corrected radiocarbon dating and magnetism; their durations are not known. The first took place in 5050 BCE, producing the Tamolitch lava flow. The next eruptive event, which took place in 1030 BCE ± 300 years, had a VEI of 0 and took place at Little Belknap. The subsequent eruption at South Belknap and Twin Craters occurred in 800 BCE ± 300 years and had a VEI of 2 ( Strombolian/ Vulcanian); it was followed by the most recent identified event at Belknap Crater in 480, which also had a VEI of 2. According to the Global Volcanism Program, these four eruptions took place during the Holocene:
A precise determination for Belknap's age has not been made, as its early history remains obscure, though it is likely that Belknap has been built up by eruptive activity over a long period of time. Belknap's oldest exposed lava deposits are located on the eastern flanks of the volcano, produced by vents that may have been buried by later activity. They coursed mostly to the northeast and split into two lobes on both sides of the Dugout Butte ridge
A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
, extending about from their source vent, along the eastern edges of the Deschutes National Forest.
Between 3,000 and 1,500 years ago during the late Holocene epoch, the Belknap shield volcano as well as the Belknap Crater cone and Little Belknap shield volcano erupted, generating lava flows that spread throughout the McKenzie Pass area. Belknap Crater's lava flows were produced from its northeastern base and extended to the west, reaching the McKenzie River valley. These events represent one of the largest periods of recent volcanism in the Cascade Range, and were comparable in terms of effusion rates to the formation of Mount Bachelor.
The initial eruptions generated tephra, which covered an extensive area to the northeast and southeast, as well as basaltic lava flows that extended from the burgeoning shield volcano edifice[ to the east. Thin scoria deposits occur west of Belknap; on the eastern slopes, lava deposits are covered with black ash and fine cinders. There is also an ash blanketing an expansive area from Dry Creek to the north to Black Crater to the south, with ash deposits as far as eastward. These eruptions were produced from two, deep craters on top of Belknap's cone, forming ]lapilli tuff
Lapilli (: lapillus) is a size classification of tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. ''Lapilli'' is Latin for "little stones".
By definition lapilli range from in diam ...
on their eastern rim walls. There are also thick rocks in the walls of the more southern crater, as well as some lava that breached the southwestern rim, which has been obscured by spatter. The northern crater contains spindle volcanic bombs at its western rim, which reach up to in length. A broad pit formed at the northern base of Belknap's cone, running for in length, and was likely blasted through a bocca. According to Taylor (1965), a strong prevailing wind moving east influenced the distribution of ash and cinders on Belknap's rim.
Eruptions during a subsequent phase about 2,900 years ago built a smaller shield volcano, Little Belknap.[ According to Sherrod et al. (2004), lava from Little Belknap formed a tree mold in the southern part of the Sand Mountain volcanic field, which was dated to 2,883 ± 175 years ]Before Present
Before Present (BP) or "years before present (YBP)" is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Because ...
(B.P.) via radiocarbon dating. Sherrod et al. (2004) also describe charcoal detected under a lava flow that coursed down Belknap Crater's western flank, which yielded two radiocarbon dating ages: 1,590 ± 160 years B.P. and 1,400 ± 100 years B.P. These ages have overlap at the level of statistical certainty, indicating that they could have been erupted nearly simultaneously or as far apart as 800 years. Both flows came from the shield volcano's summit vent. Early lava flows at Belknap were erupted from actively erupting volcanic vents before Little Belknap formed, as demonstrated by stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...
.
A third eruptive period constructed the bulk of the volcanic complex with basaltic andesite lava from Belknap Crater's central vent about 1,500 years ago. This cone-building phase was also fed by eruptions about 1,700 years ago at a vent about to the south, South Belknap.[ According to Sherrod et al. (2004), South Belknap formed charred roots at a tree mold with a radiocarbon dating age of 2,635 ± 50 years B.P., the same site that Taylor used to determine an age of 1,775 ± 400 years B.P. Taylor also argues that the cone was breached about 1,800 years ago before it was surrounded by basaltic andesite lava flows from another vent about 1,500 years ago. Sherrod et al. argue that the older date (2,635 ± 50 years B.P.) is more accurate because the deposit contains concentrated amounts of the ]cosmogenic nuclide
Cosmogenic nuclides (or cosmogenic isotopes) are rare nuclides (isotopes) created when a high-energy cosmic ray interacts with the nucleus of an '' in situ'' Solar System atom, causing nucleons (protons and neutrons) to be expelled from the atom ...
isotope
Isotopes are distinct nuclear species (or ''nuclides'') of the same chemical element. They have the same atomic number (number of protons in their Atomic nucleus, nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemica ...
3 He, which would require a longer surface exposure than Taylor's calculation would allow, at least 2,000 years B.P.
A final eruptive phase produced lava flows that extended to the west into the McKenzie River valley,[ also coursing to the north and south. These lava deposits have ropy surfaces and feature squeeze-ups between broken platforms of crust. The lava that moved south crossed over more ancient lava from Twin Craters, while the lava that ran to the west covered lava and cinder cones within the Inaccessible Cone lineament. The west-moving lavas also moved over Sand Mountain lava flows (erupted from the southern group of vents and the southern vent of Sand Mountain itself), entering the McKenzie Canyon. The lava from this eruption significantly influenced the McKenzie River, creating the upstream swamp known as Beaver Marsh, with the remnants of these lava streams now forming permeable sediment talus for the McKenzie River, which disappears into them before re-emerging at Tamolitch Falls. Erosion has altered the area downstream from these falls to a lateral terrace on the wall of the McKenzie Canyon, above the river water level.
In total, the Belknap shield and its multiple vents were formed in less than 1,500 years, which was a comparable effusion rate to the Nash Crater scoria cone, the Sand Mountain Volcanic Field, and the Mount Bachelor chain. Eruption rates for Belknap were high, at per 1,000 years, similar to the buildup of ]rhyodacite
Rhyodacite is a volcanic rock intermediate in composition between dacite and rhyolite. It is the extrusive equivalent of those plutonic rocks that are intermediate in composition between monzogranite and granodiorite. Rhyodacites form from rapid ...
before the climactic eruption at Mount Mazama. Within the last 15,000 years, Cascades volcanoes have erupted about of material excluding rear-arc volcanoes. Of this, about (21 percent) came from 63 distributed or peripheral cones, shields, or mafic and intermediate composition chains, with Belknap and Mount Bachelor contributing 71 percent of that material. Over the course of its eruptive history, Belknap erupted of material with several eruptive pulses.
Recent activity and potential hazards
Postglacial, mafic eruptions are more common in the Sisters Reach — which includes Belknap — than anywhere in the Cascade volcanic arc. A lava flow lies next to South Cinder Peak, the Nash Crater–Lost Lake cone cluster, Sand Mountain Volcanic Field, Inaccessible Cone chain, Blue Lake Crater, and a number of monogenetic scoria cones and chains. The McKenzie and Santiam Pass area saw more than a dozen distinct mafic eruptions between 4,500 and 1,100 years ago according to radiocarbon dating, which corresponded to a pulse of mafic eruptions in the late Holocene epoch. Other nearby mafic eruptive units occur at Sims Butte, Cayuse Crater, LeConte Crater, Mount Bachelor, the Egan Cone cluster, and the Katsuk-Talapus chain, which likely were all emplaced between 18,000 and 8,000 years ago. At the south of Sisters Reach, there is a postglacial, basalt lava flow that lies on the eastern flank of Sitkum Butte (a cone that is older than this lava flow). The recent eruptive activity at Belknap Crater means that it is one of the youngest mafic volcanoes in the Oregon Cascades.
There are about 6,500 people living within of Belknap Crater, with a population of about 362,000 within . However, most eruption hazards from basaltic volcanoes are generally restricted to within of the vent, with some exceptions. According to the Volcano Hazards Program of the United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
's Cascades Volcano Observatory, the threat potential from Belknap is "Low/Very Low".[ It does not seem likely that Belknap Crater will erupt again, though eruptions with similar characteristics to its past eruptions might occur in the surrounding area, disrupting transportation on major highways in the vicinity including U.S. Route 20, ]Oregon Route 22
Oregon Route 22 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the Oregon Coast community of Hebo, Oregon, Hebo, to a junction with U.S. Route 20 in Oregon, U.S. Route 20 near Santiam Pass in the Cascade Mountains. OR 22 traverses several hi ...
, and Oregon Route 242. The eruption of tephra could pose a threat to surrounding communities, particularly within central Oregon to the east.[ High-volume ]lahar
A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley.
Lahars are o ...
s (mudflow
A mudflow, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/se ...
s or debris flow
Debris flows are geological phenomena in which water-laden masses of soil and fragmented Rock (geology), rock flow down mountainsides, funnel into stream channels, entrain objects in their paths, and form thick, muddy deposits on valley floors. ...
s composed of a mix of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water) would travel far to the west. Moreover, low-volume lahars from eruptions would likely enter the McKenzie River valley, which is broad and fairly gently sloped, where they might move downstream through flood plain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...
s or small channels. Near Belknap Springs and McKenzie Bridge, deposits from the eruption could also block off water upstream, leading to downstream lahars and floods.
Human history
Belknap was named for J. H. Belknap, who lived along the McKenzie River and was the son of R. S. Belknap, responsible for developing Belknap Springs. J. H. Belknap had an interest in the toll road
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
constructed over McKenzie Pass during the early 1870s. The Belknap family came to the state of Oregon in 1847 with the Orem family, followed by G. Belknap and J. Belknap in 1848. The Belknap Springs in Lane County were found by R. S. Belknap in November 1869 and developed them, and he became the postmaster for the Salt Springs post office, which was established in October 1874. The name for the Salt Springs office changed to Belknaps Springs in June 1875, then Belknap Springs in 1891.
During the days of the American pioneer
American pioneers, also known as American settlers, were European American,Asian American, and African American settlers who migrated westward from the British Thirteen Colonies and later the United States of America to settle and develop areas ...
, the Santiam and McKenzie passes were the two major routes through the Deschutes Forest area, eventually transforming into highways for Oregon's interior. The Willamette Pass to the south was used as a route by travelers as early as 1853, noting its difficult as the "route was far from a road." Still, the road was heavily used in spite of its poor conditions, later becoming the Willamette Pass Highway, better known as Oregon Route 58. In 1862, the Scott brothers and colleagues formed the McKenzie Fork Wagon Road Company to create a better road passing over lava fields in the area, then later the McKenzie River Wagon Road Company, which had as its objective a road that crossed the Cascade Range near the Three Sisters volcano complex at the Deschutes River. A third group followed that aimed to forge a road across the Deschutes north of the Sisters. The original route pursued by the Scott brothers reached the Belknap hot springs.
In the early 20th century, herds of sheep were moved to the two steptoes that lie among the Little Belknap lava flows to graze. The Oregon Skyline Trail, which runs to the west of Belknap's lava flows, follows paths used by Native American populations, who harvested huckleberries
Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''.
Nomenclature
The name 'huckleberry' is a North American variation of the English dialectal ...
in the area.
Recreation
The Dee Wright Observatory was built with lava blocks from the lava fields produced by Belknap, Yapoah cinder cone, and other volcanoes. It offers views of local volcanoes; Belknap lies to the north. Both Belknap Crater and Little Belknap Crater can be reached from spurs of the Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...
. The round trip from intersection of the Pacific Crest Trail and Oregon Route 242 to Little Belknap Crater is about and ranges in elevation from , with an easy to moderate difficulty level. The round trip to Belknap Crater is about from the trailhead and is more difficult owing to the steep climb to the summit on fine cinders.
The trail offers views of nearby Mount Washington, Black Crater, and the Three Sisters, as well as lava features. Trees and other forms of wildlife are rare along the trail. There is also a trail that extends to Belknap Crater, which runs about round trip, with an intermediate difficulty level. It can also be skied. The Oregon Skyline Trail, part of which runs for through the Deschutes National Forest, passes westward of the Belknap lava fields. It has been recognized as a major scenic route since 1920.
Notes
* This volume comes from Hildreth (2007); Taylor (1981) estimated its volume to be .
* Taylor (1990) lists three principal eruptive episodes between about 3,000 and 1,500 years Before Present
Before Present (BP) or "years before present (YBP)" is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Because ...
(BP). However, he still lists the four eruptions that the Cascades Volcano Observatory and Global Volcanism Program
The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP) documents Earth's volcanoes and their eruptive history during the Quaternary Period of Earth's geologic history, with particular emphasis on volcanic activity during the Holocene Epoc ...
describe; he considers the two most recent eruptions to be part of the third major eruptive phase.
* Sherrod et al. (2004) disagree with this date for the eruptive phase at South Belknap. As mentioned in the text, Sherrod et al. calculated a radiocarbon dating age of 2,635 ± 50 years B.P. for the same site that Taylor used to generate this estimated age, which is equivalent to 1,775 ± 400 years B.P.
References
Sources
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External links
"Little Belknap Crater". Oregon Adventures.
Oregon Hiking Website.
* Sawiel, Michael
"Little Belknap Crater".
Outdoor Project.
{{Volcanoes of Oregon
Shield volcanoes of the United States
Volcanoes of Oregon
Mountains of Oregon
Cascade Range
Subduction volcanoes
Cascade Volcanoes
Mountains of Linn County, Oregon
Willamette National Forest
Cinder cones of the United States
Volcanoes of Linn County, Oregon
VEI-2 volcanoes