Newberry Volcano
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Newberry Volcano is a large,
active Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * "Active" (song), a 2024 song by Asake and Travis Scott from Asake's album ''Lungu Boy'' * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several com ...
,
shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...
-shaped
stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...
located about south of
Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in central Oregon and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is located to the east of the Cascade Range, on the Deschutes River. The site became known by pioneers as a ford (cros ...
, United States, east of the major crest 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 ...
, within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Its highest point is Paulina Peak. Newberry is the largest volcano in 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 ...
, with an area of when 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 taken into account. From north to south, the volcano has a length of , with a width of and a total volume of approximately . It was named for the geologist and surgeon John Strong Newberry, who explored central Oregon for the
Pacific Railroad Surveys The Pacific Railroad Surveys (1853–1855) were a series of explorations of the American West designed to find and document possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America. The expeditions included surveyors, scientists, and a ...
in 1855. The volcano contains a large
caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...
, in diameter, known as the Newberry Caldera. Within the caldera are two lakes: Paulina Lake and East Lake. The volcano and its vicinity include many
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 ...
s, lava flows and
lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...
s; Newberry has more than 400 vents, the most of any volcano in the contiguous United States.
Glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
s may have once been present at the volcano, though this remains contested. The area has a dry climate with low precipitation levels and little
surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...
. The origin of the volcano remains somewhat unclear; while some scientists believe it originated from an independent hotspot, most evidence indicates that it formed 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 oceanic Juan de Fuca and Gorda tectonic plates under the continental North American Plate. Eruptive activity at Newberry Volcano began about 600,000 years ago and has continued into the
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 ...
, the last eruption taking place 1,300 years ago. Unlike other shield-shaped volcanoes, which often erupt
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 lavas only, Newberry Volcano has also erupted
andesitic Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...
and
rhyolitic Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals ( phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The miner ...
lavas. A popular destination for hiking, fishing, boating, and other recreational activities, the volcano lies within of 16,400 people and within of nearly 200,000 people, and it continues to pose a threat to life. Still considered an active volcano, it could erupt and produce lava flows,
pyroclastic flow A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...
s,
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 (volcanically induced mudslides, landslides, and debris flows), ashfall, earthquakes, avalanches, and floods. To track this threat, the volcano and its surroundings are closely monitored with sensors by 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 ...
.


Geography

The center of Newberry Volcano lies to the south of the city of Bend, at the intersection of Deschutes, Klamath and
Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
counties in
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 ...
, where it is one of the most accessible volcanoes in the state. It is the largest volcano in 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 ...
at , and has roughly the same area as the state of
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
at if its lava flows are included. Newberry lies east of the major crest 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 ...
in the High Lava Plains region, rising above its surroundings. From north to south, the volcano runs for a length of , with a width of and a total volume of about . Because of its enormous size and topographic prominence, it is often confused for an entire mountain range. Newberry Volcano has a somewhat dry climate due to its location in the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
of the Cascade Range. Climate data for the Newberry National Volcanic Monument are collected at the Lava Butte cinder cone, which had an average annual precipitation of from 2002 to 2012. Summer temperatures average from , dipping to average minimum and maximum temperatures of during the winter season. Spring has average temperatures of , while fall temperatures average . Each year, total precipitation consisting of winter snow and summer rain varies from in the highest parts of the region, and
surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...
rarely occurs even during heavy rain showers. Only one stream appears on Newberry's entire surface, and it remains unclear whether the volcano has ever been able to support glaciers on its slopes, since the mountain lacks
cirque A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...
s (amphitheater-like valleys formed by glacial erosion) or evidence of contact between lava and ice. However, displaced
glacial erratics A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...
have been found far from their native areas,
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
sediment has been deposited on the eastern and northeastern slopes of the volcano, and the mountain's various cone features have "boat" shapes that indicate glacial alteration. The precise history of glaciers on the volcano is debated, but dry channels and dry waterfalls on the eastern and western slopes are evidence that the volcano once held water. The volcano has two crater lakes, Paulina Lake and East Lake, which are filled by precipitation and
percolation In physics, chemistry, and materials science, percolation () refers to the movement and filtration, filtering of fluids through porous materials. It is described by Darcy's law. Broader applications have since been developed that cover connecti ...
of ground water. Paulina Lake occupies an area of and reaches a maximum depth of , and it is separated from East Lake by a narrow
isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...
, which is composed 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 ...
lava. East Lake has a smaller area of with a maximum depth of . The lakes have historically flooded channels surrounding the volcano. A large flood between 4,000 and 2,300 years ago released up to 12,000 acre feet (0.0148 km3) in volume from Paulina Lake, filling the valley floor above the Paulina Prairie, which surrounds the lake. It was possibly caused by the failure of a rock ledge in height, rather than eruptive activity. Another flood took place in 1909 on the
Deschutes River The Deschutes River ( ) in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many of the tributaries that descend from the drier, easte ...
downstream from where it meets its tributary the Little Deschutes River.


Ecology

The Newberry National Volcanic Monument forms part of the northern section of the Mazama Ecological Province, which has soil comprised by aeolian
pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...
and volcanic products over basalt
bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...
. Flora within the Newberry Volcano area includes forests of
juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...
,
whitebark pine ''Pinus albicaulis'', known by the common names whitebark pine, white bark pine, white pine, pitch pine, scrub pine, and creeping pine, is a conifer tree native to the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically subalpine ...
,
ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...
(including Oregon's largest ponderosa pine tree),
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 ...
,
jack pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana''), also known as grey pine or scrub pine, is a North American pine. Distribution and habitat Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories t ...
, and
white fir ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, concolor fir, or Colorado fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Sierra Nevada and southern Rocky Mountains, and int ...
, in addition to other plants like Indian paintbrush, purple
penstemon ''Penstemon'' , the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 280 species of flowering plants native to North America from northern Canada to Central America. It is the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. As well as bein ...
, bitterbrush,
manzanita Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus '' Arctostaphylos''. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from Southern British Columbia and Washington to O ...
, and snowbrush. Infestations by mountain pine beetles have killed many lodgepole pines in the area. Animals near Newberry Volcano include
burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America. They are typically found in gra ...
s,
kangaroo rat Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed thi ...
s,
lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
s,
bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...
s,
rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...
s,
eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
s,
porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...
s,
otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...
s,
bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...
s,
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 ...
,
Roosevelt elk The Roosevelt elk (''Cervus canadensis roosevelti)'', also known commonly as the Olympic elk and Roosevelt's wapiti, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk ('' Cervus canadensis'') in North America by body mass. Mature bulls we ...
,
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
s, and
American pika The American pika (''Ochotona princeps''), a diurnal species of pika, is found in the mountains of western North America, usually in boulder fields at or above the tree line. They are herbivorous, smaller relatives of rabbits and hares. Pi ...
. Lava flows from Newberry display varied vegetation cover, and there are variable levels of flora between flows, though the level of vegetation and
species diversity Species diversity is the number of different species that are represented in a given community (a dataset). The effective number of species refers to the number of equally abundant species needed to obtain the same mean proportional species abundan ...
generally increase with elevation. Dominant plant species on lava flows include oceanspray and wax currant, with rabbitbrush also common. Though
forb A forb or phorb is a herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in botany and in vegetation ecology especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically, these are eudicots without woo ...
s are not widespread on the lava flows, where they do occur
Davidson's penstemon Davidson's is a Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of ...
and hotrock penstemon dominate. Above elevations of , roundleaf alumroot is common, particularly near the edges of lava flows. All lava flows support patches of grasses such as
Idaho fescue ''Festuca idahoensis'' is a species of grass known by the common names Idaho fescue and blue bunchgrass. It is native to western North America, where it is widespread and common. It can be found in many ecosystems, from shady forests to open plai ...
, especially on north-facing slopes. One lava flow at Lava Butte is barren except for scattered, dense patches of
greenleaf manzanita ''Arctostaphylos patula'' is a species of Arctostaphylos, manzanita known by the common name greenleaf manzanita. This manzanita is native to western North America where it grows at moderate to high elevations. Description This shrub reaches be ...
. The Lava Cast Forest is a group of trees molded by lava from an eruption 6,000 years ago. Today, the surrounding site lies within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument and includes 11
kīpuka A kīpuka is an area of land surrounded by one or more younger lava flows. A kīpuka forms when lava flows on either side of a hill, ridge, or older lava dome as it moves downslope or spreads from its source. Older and more weathered than their ...
s, plots of land surrounded by one or more younger lava flows. These habitat islands range from in area and sustain forests that have not been significantly altered by humans other than nearby fire suppression and land management efforts. Consisting of pure and mixed forest stands, these forests include ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and grand fir/white fir hybrid trees, which are supported by young soils derived from Mazama pumice.


Geology

Overlapping with the northwestern corner of the
Basin and Range Province The Basin and Range Province is a vast United States physiographic region, physiographic region covering much of the inland Western United States and Northern Mexico, northwestern Mexico. It is defined by unique basin and range topography, charac ...
, also known as the High Lava Plains, Newberry Volcano lies within a
Cenozoic The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...
highland marked by normal faults known as the Brothers Fault Zone. It is situated at the intersection of the Brothers Fault Zone with the north–northwest-trending Sisters and northeast-trending Walker Rim fault zones. In the mantle under Newberry Volcano, P and S
seismic wave A seismic wave is a mechanical wave of acoustic energy that travels through the Earth or another planetary body. It can result from an earthquake (or generally, a quake), volcanic eruption, magma movement, a large landslide and a large ma ...
s exhibit an unusually low wave velocity. The Earth's crust thins from at the nearby Three Sisters volcano complex to near Newberry, where it has a high
Poisson's ratio In materials science and solid mechanics, Poisson's ratio (symbol: ( nu)) is a measure of the Poisson effect, the deformation (expansion or contraction) of a material in directions perpendicular to the specific direction of loading. The value ...
. The oldest rocks in this region include
silicic Silicic is an adjective to describe magma or igneous rock rich in silica. The amount of silica that constitutes a silicic rock is usually defined as at least 63 percent. Granite and rhyolite are the most common silicic rocks. Silicic is the g ...
(rich in
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...
)
lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...
s from the late
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
or early
Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58hotspot, but overwhelming evidence suggests that it is part of the Cascades Arc and was produced by 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 oceanic Juan de Fuca and Gorda tectonic plates under the continental North American Plate. However, Newberry Volcano has been transformed by tectonic processes, possibly related to subductive mechanisms that enhance melting of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate. The High Lava Plains Trend, or the Newberry Trend, moves at an
oblique angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle can refer to a number of concepts relating to the intersection of two straight lines at a point. Formally, an angle is a figure lying in a plane formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing ...
to the underlying North American tectonic plate, for which subduction counterflow, gravitational flow along the
lithosphere A lithosphere () is the rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust and the lithospheric mantle, the topmost portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time ...
's base, faulting, and extension of the Basin and Range Province have all been proposed as possible mechanisms. At Newberry, the subducting plate has a depth that is shallower than elsewhere in the major crest of the Cascades, accounting for its unique magmas. Newberry Volcano is likely fed by a
magma chamber A magma chamber is a large pool of liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth. The molten rock, or magma, in such a chamber is less dense than the surrounding country rock, which produces buoyant forces on the magma that tend to drive it u ...
under the large, cauldron-like caldera at its summit. This caldera has dimensions of and formed about 75,000 years ago. Newberry Volcano first formed about 600,000 years ago and has since been built up by several thousand eruptions. About 500,000 years ago, Mount Newberry attained an elevation of . The caldera-forming event occurred about 75,000 years ago from a major
explosive eruption In volcanology, an explosive eruption is a volcanic eruption of the most violent type. A notable example is the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Such eruptions result when sufficient gas has dissolved under pressure within a Viscosity, viscous ...
. It formed the crater lakes and Paulina Peak—which is the highest point on the volcano, at . As a result of its caldera-forming eruption, Newberry has a horizontal profile, which is typical of 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 ...
. However, it is also considered a composite volcano, made up of a matrix of lava flows and pyroclastic deposits. Unlike more typical composite volcanoes in the Cascades, it formed from several eruption types including more traditional explosive eruptions and more fluid effusive events; thus it is usually classified as a "shield-shaped composite volcano", or shield-shaped stratovolcano. The volcano has a caldera at its summit, which has a diameter of and features two crater lakes: Paulina Lake and East Lake. This caldera, known as the Newberry Crater, is forested, with small parts of its surface covered with lava flows and pumice deposits. Before the caldera's creation, the mountain's summit was greater in height than its current elevation. The caldera has reformed several times throughout the volcano's history, burying the caldera floor to a depth of and creating concentric calderas, each smaller than its predecessor. The first caldera—the volcano's largest caldera, forming approximately 300,000 years ago—was produced by the eruption of of pyroclastic ejecta, which created the Tepee Draw
tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...
and ash deposits that cover the volcano's eastern flank. The last crater formed after an explosive eruption about 80,000 years ago, which ejected up to of pyroclastic materials. Throughout this progression, the volcano shifted from rhyodacitic pumice to
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 ash flows, the latter producing the Black Lapilli tuff that covers the western side of the volcano. Since the last caldera-forming eruption 80,000 years ago, the volcano has undergone silicic eruptions at the caldera and produced basaltic and
basaltic andesite Basaltic andesite is a volcanic rock that is intermediate in composition between basalt and andesite. It is composed predominantly of augite and plagioclase. Basaltic andesite can be found in volcanoes around the world, including in Central Ameri ...
lava flows that extended down its outer flanks. The tephra and ash from the Black Lapilli tuff by the caldera formed agglutinates around its rim. Newberry Volcano is cut by several
fault scarp A fault scarp is a small step-like offset of the ground surface in which one side of a fault has shifted vertically in relation to the other. The topographic expression of fault scarps results from the differential erosion of rocks of contrastin ...
s, small step offsets on the ground surface where one side of a fault has moved vertically with respect to the other. At the center of the isthmus that separates Newberry Volcano's two crater lakes is the central
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 ...
, named Central Pumice cone, which reaches above East Lake. With a broad, flat top, it formed during an explosive eruption about 7,000 years ago, and sits in the center of the caldera. Compositionally, lava from the Newberry Volcano has varied from primitive basalts with high
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 ...
levels to more
evolved Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
tholeiitic The tholeiitic magma series () is one of two main magma series in subalkaline igneous rocks, the other being the calc-alkaline series. A magma series is a chemically distinct range of magma compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic ...
and
calc-alkaline The calc-alkaline magma series is one of two main subdivisions of the subalkaline magma series, the other subalkaline magma series being the tholeiitic series. A magma series is a series of compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic ...
deposits (based on the major element characteristics of the lavas). Primitive lavas exhibit high abundances of
chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...
and
nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
as well as variable concentrations of fluid-mobile elements like
barium Barium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ba and atomic number 56. It is the fifth element in group 2 and is a soft, silvery alkaline earth metal. Because of its high chemical reactivity, barium is never found in nature as a free element. Th ...
and
strontium Strontium is a chemical element; it has symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, it is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is exposed to ...
. Tholeiitic and calc-alkaline lavas display overlap in magnesium,
calcium oxide Calcium oxide (formula: Ca O), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term '' lime'' connotes calcium-containing ...
, and
aluminum oxide Aluminium oxide (or aluminium(III) oxide) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula . It is the most commonly occurring of several aluminium oxides, and specifically identified as aluminium oxide. It is commonly ...
levels but differ in that the tholeiites have lower contents of silica and
potassium oxide Potassium oxide ( K O) is an ionic compound of potassium and oxygen. It is a base. This pale yellow solid is the simplest oxide of potassium. It is a highly reactive compound that is rarely encountered. Some industrial materials, such as fertil ...
and higher
iron(II) oxide Iron(II) oxide or ferrous oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula FeO. Its mineral form is known as wüstite. One of several iron oxides, it is a black-colored powder that is sometimes confused with rust, the latter of which consists ...
,
titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound derived from titanium with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or Colour Index Internationa ...
, and
sodium oxide Sodium oxide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is used in ceramics and glasses. It is a white solid but the compound is rarely encountered. Instead "sodium oxide" is used to describe components of various materials such as glasses and f ...
. There is also much overlap in isotopic composition, though the tholeiitic lavas mark the low point for 87Sr/86Sr and the high point for 143Nd/144Nd and 176Hf/177Hf. Examination of Newberry lavas with olivine-plagioclase
hygrometry Psychrometrics (or psychrometry, ; also called hygrometry) is the field of engineering concerned with the physical and thermodynamic properties of gas-vapor mixtures. History With the inventions of the hygrometer and thermometer, the theorie ...
shows that tholeiites are
anhydrous A substance is anhydrous if it contains no water. Many processes in chemistry can be impeded by the presence of water; therefore, it is important that water-free reagents and techniques are used. In practice, however, it is very difficult to achie ...
(less than ) and thus distinct from calc-alkaline deposits (); both have different fractional crystallization sequences that derive from primitive magmas, which had their compositions influenced by equilibrium with
peridotite Peridotite ( ) is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium (Mg2+), reflecting the high pr ...
in the mantle. By volume, basaltic andesite is the principal lava type at Newberry Volcano, with large volumes of silicic lava among older ash flow tuff deposits.


Subfeatures

Vents at the volcano follow north-east and north-west trends influenced by
extension Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (proof theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that ...
of the Basin and Range Province. With more than 400 vents, Newberry has more individual subfeatures than any other volcano in the contiguous United States. These include
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 ...
s, lava domes, and various other lava edifices, with at least 25 vents on the volcano's flanks and summits becoming active within the past 10,000 years. Most of the cinder cones on the volcano's edifice vary from in elevation, though a number of them reach heights above with diameters greater than . Most of these exhibit saucer-like summit depression landforms, with notable exceptions at Lava Top and North Kawak Buttes, which have craters that are in depth. Basaltic and basaltic andesite lava flows have penetrated the bases of many of these cinder cones, forming a matrix of connected flows, and a veneer of pāhoehoe and ʻaʻā lavas can be found on Newberry volcano's northern and southern sides. The northern flank holds three distinct
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 ...
systems that formed out of pāhoehoe lava: the
Horse Lava Tube System The Horse Lava Tube System (or Horse system) is a series of lava tubes within Deschutes County, Oregon, of the United States. The system starts within the Deschutes National Forest on the northern flank of Newberry Volcano and heads north into ...
(also known as the Horse System), Arnold Lava Tube System, and the Lava Top Butte basalt. About 7,000 years ago, at Newberry's Northwest Rift Zone, lava fountains erupted from a fissure with a length of , yielding basaltic and andesitic lava flows.
Strombolian eruption In volcanology, a Strombolian eruption is a type of volcanic eruption with relatively mild blasts, typically having a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 1 or 2. Strombolian eruptions consist of ejection of incandescent Scoria, cinders, lapilli, and vo ...
s (which eject incandescent cinder,
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 lava bombs) produced tephra that formed Lava Butte, a cinder cone near Newberry with a height of , a base diameter of , and a crater depth of . With a lopsided shape where the northeastern rim is taller than the southwestern counterpart, this cinder cone sits south of Bend. The nearby Badlands shield volcano, which formed out of a rootless vent to produce a large basaltic lava flow at Newberry, has a diameter of . It has pāhoehoe lava throughout its surface, with
tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...
(mounds of earth and stones) and a
pit crater A pit crater (also called a subsidence crater or collapse crater) is a depression formed by the sinking or collapse of the surface lying above a void or empty chamber, rather than by the eruption of a volcano or lava vent. Pit craters are found ...
. Dacite and rhyodacite domes can be found on the middle and upper flanks, and Newberry also features twenty rhyolitic lava domes and lava flows among its western, eastern, and southern flanks. These include East Butte and China Hat at the eastern base of the volcano, which date to 850,000 and 780,000 years ago, and therefore predate Newberry. The McKay Butte, found on the volcano's western side, formed 580,000 years ago. Other Holocene eruptions have produced rhyolite lava that remained close to the summit, including Paulina Peak, which has a width of one mile and reaches within of the wall of the caldera.
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 can be found at Paulina Lake and East Lake, along with one
fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or another rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...
gas vent at Lost Lake, located near the Big Obsidian lava flow. These discharge gases like
water vapor Water vapor, water vapour, or aqueous vapor is the gaseous phase of Properties of water, water. It is one Phase (matter), state of water within the hydrosphere. Water vapor can be produced from the evaporation or boiling of liquid water or from th ...
and
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
and give off a rotten smell, though the composition has few noxious components.


Eruptive history

During the late
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
, Newberry Volcano produced a number of voluminous lava flows, made of basalt, which originated from several vents on its northern flank and reached the modern areas of Bend and Redmond. They filled canyons that served as precursors for the Deschutes and Crooked rivers–since eroded–and extended tens of miles from the volcano. Lava from the last of these eruptions about 78,000 years ago covered the Bend area, surrounded the Pilot Butte cinder cone, and filled the Deschutes River bed. In addition to its production of large lava flows, Newberry Volcano has also produced a number of
Plinian eruption Plinian eruptions or Vesuvian eruptions are volcanic eruptions characterized by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The eruption was described in a le ...
s similar to the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii and
Peléan eruption Peléan eruptions are a type of volcanic eruption. They can occur when viscous magma, typically of rhyolitic to andesitic type, is involved, and share some similarities with Vulcanian eruptions. The most important characteristic of a Peléan erupt ...
s like the 1902 explosion of
Mount Pelée Mount Pelée or Mont Pelée ( ; , ; ), meaning "bald mountain" or "peeled mountain" in French, is an active volcano at the northern end of Martinique, an island and French overseas department in the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc of the Caribbean ...
. These include a number of caldera-forming eruptions, producing ash flow deposits including the Tepee Draw tuff and Black Lapilli tuff, and rising or more into the
stratosphere The stratosphere () is the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere of Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is composed of stratified temperature zones, with the warmer layers of air located higher ...
. The last of these eruptions covered tens of thousands of square miles with ash, extending to the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
in California nearly to the southwest. Here, it reaches a thickness of one centimeter. Additionally, Newberry has produced multiple, voluminous explosive eruptions, with certain studies estimating up to 60 eruptive events of rhyolite and
dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...
tephra that reach Idaho, Utah, and northern California. These include the eruption that produced the Paulina Creek tephra between 55,000 and 50,000 years ago, and the eruption from 20,000 years ago responsible for the Wono tephra, which extends into western Nevada and east-central California. As a result of compositional zoning within the magma chamber that feeds the volcano, its ash deposits may show different chemical and mineralogical makeups. The last of these tephra eruptions yielded the Newberry pumice just before 1,300 years ago, reaching several hundred miles to the east. Between the last Ice Age about 12,000 years ago and 7,700 years ago, the volcano erupted at least 12 times.
Mount Mazama Mount Mazama ( Klamath: ''Tum-sum-ne'') is a complex volcano in the western U.S. state of Oregon, in a segment of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and Cascade Range. The volcano is in Klamath County, in the southern Cascades, north of the Oregon– ...
erupted 7,700 years ago, producing volcanic ash and pumice that accumulated to a thickness of up to on the Newberry Volcano, covering many of the lava flows on its slopes. During three eruptive periods at Newberry over the past 7,500 years, the caldera has seen rhyolitic eruptions from seven individual vents. About 7,000 years ago, eruptions occurred along the rift zone northwest of Newberry Volcano's caldera, yielding 12 lava flows that encompassed an area of . At about the same time, the Central Pumice cone was produced by eruptions that also formed the Interlake and Game Hut
obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...
flows from a vent on the cone's southern flank. An eruption from a fissure zone at East Lake, 3,500 years ago, yielded tephra and formed the East Lake obsidian lava flows. The volcano underwent its most recent eruptions 1,300 years ago, producing the Big Obsidian flow. A silicic deposit, it is made up of rhyolite and features a number of lava blocks. Although it is frequently cited as the largest
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 ...
obsidian formation in the United States, its area of and volume of actually place it fifth in the nation. The eruptions, which were both explosive and effusive, began with a Plinian explosion of pumice and tephra that covered the caldera's eastern half and reached several hundred miles to the east. This deposit, called the Newberry pumice, reaches a thickness of up to from the vent that produced it, which is located at the southern flank of the caldera, and a thickness of up to from the volcano. Because of strong westerly winds, tephra reached as far east as Idaho. This eruption also produced
pyroclastic flow A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...
s that left
volcanic bomb A volcanic bomb or lava bomb is a mass of partially molten rock (tephra) larger than 64 mm (2.5 inches) in diameter, formed when a volcano ejects viscous fragments of lava during an eruption. Because volcanic bombs cool after they l ...
s in Paulina Lake.


Recent activity and current threats

Though Newberry Volcano is currently quiet, 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 an
active volcano An active volcano is a volcano that is currently erupting, or has the potential to erupt in the future. Conventionally it is applied to any that have erupted during the Holocene (the current geologic epoch that began approximately 11,700 years ...
with a "very high" threat level. Hot springs within the caldera remain active, and small earthquakes have occurred within recent local history. Any future eruptions would likely show similar characteristics to eruptions from the past 15,000 years, ranging from effusive production of lava flows to explosive eruptions ejecting pumice and ash. If future lava flows from Newberry Volcano are of comparable size to its late Pleistocene eruptions, they would bury settlements throughout the
Central Oregon Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards t ...
region. They would also likely destroy segments of U.S. Route 97, disabling transportation in the area, in addition to likely ruining gas pipelines and power lines that extend electricity to California, both of which would be accompanied by serious economic consequences. Flank lava flows, which would likely be basaltic in origin, might form lava fountains that could scatter cinders and lava for several thousand meters, building cinder cones or initiating
forest fires A forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Au ...
. While the flows themselves move at rates of per minute, and thus could be escaped by animals and humans, they would destroy stationary structures in their paths. Pyroclastic flows, on the other hand, travel at speeds of , and their violent force could incinerate or pulverize objects in their path, or asphyxiate living things. If another caldera-forming eruption of similar magnitude to previous ones at the volcano occurred, pyroclastic flows could devastate the area surrounding the volcano for up to . However, pyroclastic flows have been rare at Newberry. Tephra from explosive eruptions would short-circuit electric transformers and power lines, clog engine filters, produce clouds that might yield lightning, and pose a hazard to aircraft overhead. It would also pose health hazards because ash particles can irritate eyes, and when ingested, lungs, among other health issues. Because of water from the two crater lakes, eruptions at Newberry Volcano may become more explosive and more likely to produce pyroclastic flows. Moreover, if pyroclastic flows mix with snow or water overflowing from the crater lakes, they could spawn
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, volcanically induced
mudslide 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/ ...
s,
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...
s, and
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 that could devastate the Paulina Creek valley and reach the La Pine valley within 30 minutes. Threats from the volcano pose hazards to about 16,400 people who live within and more than 180,000 people living within . In addition to threats from volcanic activity, at least one flood has taken place at Newberry Volcano in the past, though it may not have been a result of eruptive activity. If lava flows from an eruption blocked the Deschutes River, they might generate floods upstream by increasing water level and downstream once the blockage clears. Earthquakes unrelated to volcanic activity also take place in Oregon, though they are usually less than 2.5 on the
Richter magnitude scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...
. Volcanoes can also cause earthquakes reaching magnitudes up to 5 on the Richter scale, which sometimes occur as swarms. These clusters of tremors cause shaking of houses, walls, and windows and can crack plaster or walls in older buildings but rarely cause major damage. Powerful earthquakes close to magnitude 7 would cause damage independently, but they would not cause Newberry Volcano to erupt unless it were already on the verge of activity. Additional threats exist for rockfalls and
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...
s. If Newberry Volcano were to erupt, it should be possible to detect increased seismic activity, while increased production of volcanic gas would likely kill trees near the volcano, which scientists would quickly recognize before notifying emergency management agencies. Before 2011, Newberry was monitored by just one seismic station that had been installed in 1987 and had only detected seven earthquakes within of the volcano. In 2011, scientists from the Cascades Volcano Observatory installed eight more seismic and deformation monitors in the volcano's vicinity, which has seen the number of detectable earthquakes rise to 10–15 per year. The volcano continues to be closely monitored by the United States Geological Survey, which monitors a
seismometer A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground displacement and shaking such as caused by quakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The out ...
network with the geophysics program at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
and regularly conducts leveling surveys to check for deformation that could suggest impending activity, in addition to sampling geothermal areas. There are
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...
instruments installed within the volcano's vicinity to monitor any swelling that occurs as a result of underground movement of magma. Despite historical uplift at the volcano, deformation has remained continuously low in recent years.


Human history

The area around Newberry Volcano has been inhabited by Native American peoples for more than 10,000 years, though only intermittently as a result of eruptive activity at the volcano and in the surrounding area. During an
archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
near Paulina Lake in 1992, researchers discovered remnants of a central
hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial ...
and a housing structure with support posts and linear rock arrangements with dimensions of .
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 ...
of charcoal samples from the site were dated to 11,000 years ago. The mountain's caldera was used to harvest obsidian, which they used to sharpen arrowheads and tools and traded throughout the Pacific Coast region for several thousand years. The first recorded European to visit the volcano was
Peter Skene Ogden Peter Skene Ogden (alternately Skeene, Skein, or Skeen; baptised 12 February 1790 – 27 September 1854) was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many exped ...
, a trapper who reached the crater in 1826. In 1855, the volcano's namesake, John Strong Newberry, a surgeon and geologist for the Williamson and Abbot survey party, visited central Oregon while mapping the local area for the
Pacific Railroad The Pacific Railroad (not to be confused with Union Pacific Railroad) was a railroad based in Missouri. It was a predecessor of both the Missouri Pacific Railroad and St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. The Pacific was chartered by Missouri in 184 ...
, but never visited the volcano. Paulina Lake, Paulina Creek, and Paulina Peak are named after Paulina, a Snake Indian chief who headed raiding parties against whites during the 1850s and 1860s before he was pursued and shot by settler Howard Maupin. Near the end of the 19th century, the Lava River Cave was used by the hunter Leander Dillman to store perishable foods. The name Mount Newberry was proposed by Israel Russell, who visited the area in 1903, though the name did not come into use. Instead, it was known as Newberry Crater until it was renamed to the Newberry Volcano in the 1930s by geologist
Howel Williams Howel Williams (October 12, 1898 – January 12, 1980) was an American geologist and volcanologist. Early life He was born of Welsh parents in Liverpool, England, on October 12, 1898. He received a BA in geography in 1923 and an MA in archaeo ...
, a name which was formally accepted in 2003 when geologist Larry Chitwood supported it through the official geographic naming process. Because of the efforts of Hollis Dole, head of the Oregon Department of Geology, to promote the area, in 1963
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
scientists became interested in using lava fields at Newberry to prepare for the United States' first
Moon landing A Moon landing or lunar landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, including both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was Luna 2 in 1959. In 1969 Apollo 11 was the first cr ...
. NASA used the area in October 1964 and July 1966 to geologically train the Apollo Astronauts in recognizing volcanic features, such as cinder and pumice cones, lava flows, ash and obsidian flows, and a lava tube. Astronauts who would use this training on the Moon included
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...
's
Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...
and
Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...
,
Apollo 12 Apollo 12 (November 14–24, 1969) was the sixth crewed flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, by NASA from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Charles ...
's
Alan Bean Alan LaVern Bean (March 15, 1932 – May 26, 2018) was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, NASA astronaut and painter. He was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut Grou ...
,
Apollo 14 Apollo 14 (January 31February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to Moon landing, land on the Moon, and the first to land in the Geology of the Moon#Highlands, lunar highlands. It was the las ...
's
Edgar Mitchell Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell (September 17, 1930 – February 4, 2016) was a United States Navy officer and United States Naval Aviator, aviator, test pilot, Aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer, Ufology, ufologist, and NASA astronaut. ...
,
Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the Apollo program and the fourth Moon landing. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greate ...
's
James Irwin James Benson Irwin (March 17, 1930 – August 8, 1991) was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force Aviator, pilot. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landin ...
, and
Apollo 16 Apollo 16 (April 1627, 1972) was the tenth human spaceflight, crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the second o ...
's Charlie Duke. Notable geologist instructors included Aaron Waters. The Newberry National Volcanic Monument was established in November 1990 by the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
. With an area of more than , it forms a near-circular shape around the summit caldera and then a long corridor from the mountain's northwestern side to the Deschutes River that includes a
rift zone A rift zone is a feature of some volcanoes, especially shield volcanoes, in which a set of linear cracks (or rifts) develops in a volcanic edifice, typically forming into two or three well-defined regions along the flanks of the vent. Believed ...
. The Monument lies within the
Deschutes National Forest The Deschutes National Forest is a United States national forest (NF) located in Central Oregon, in parts of Deschutes, Klamath, Lake, and Jefferson counties. It was established in 1908, with border changes following in 1911 and 1915. The f ...
, which is managed by the
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
. As of 1997, the caldera area of Newberry holds seven campgrounds, two resort areas, and six summer houses.


Mining and geothermal energy

Because Newberry has had recent eruptive activity, has remained active for a long time, and has a shallow heat source feeding hot springs, it represents a source of
geothermal energy Geothermal energy is thermal energy extracted from the crust (geology), crust. It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for m ...
. An investigation conducted by the United States Geological Survey in 1981 drilled a well in depth at a location to the east of the Big Obsidian flow, finding temperatures of under the surface there. An energy company drilled two holes with a depth of in 1995 and 1996, but they were unable to find fluids, so they lacked a mechanism to drive turbines and opted to end the project at Newberry. According to many scientists, Newberry Volcano represents the best geothermal energy candidate in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
; in 2012, a deep well was built to determine whether water directed into the hole might be heated and returned to the surface in order to yield energy.


Recreation

Newberry Volcano is visited by 250,000 people each year, who come to go
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
for trout in East Lake, to camp on Paulina Lake, or go
mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...
around the loop that surrounds the crater. The lakes are also popular for
boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...
. At the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, camping, fishing, and hiking are popular, including on the Trail of the Molten Land, which follows a 7,000-year-old lava flow from Lava Butte, and the Trail of the Whispering Pines, which traverses a ponderosa pine forest.
Horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
is also possible in a section of the Peter Skene Ogden Trail, long, which runs through the monument area;
snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...
and
cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...
are also popular. The Lava Lands Visitor Center within the Monument has an exhibit on the area's geology and culture and offers a paved path that runs for . A shuttle leaves from the center every 20 minutes during the peak season from Memorial Day through Labor Day, costing $2 per traveler. The area can also be accessed by personal motorized vehicles during off season with a permit from the visitor center, and the center's parking area remains open year-round. The area offers eight campgrounds operated by the United States Forest Service. The last lava flow from Newberry during the Pleistocene formed the
Lava River Cave The Lava River Cave near Bend, Oregon, is part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, which is managed by the United States Forest Service. At in length, the northwest section of the cave is the longest continuous lava tube in Oregon. Whi ...
, to the south of Bend. This feature is the state's longest continuous lava tube, which can be hiked for more than one mile to the north and west and has an arching ceiling with a thickness of . This trail represents the monument's most popular attraction and can be hiked between May and mid-September with a recreation day pass that costs $5. Jackets are recommended, as the temperature within the cave is usually . The Lava Cast Forest, a group of trees molded by lava from an eruption 6,000 years ago, covers an area of and can be observed from a paved, narrow, and steep one-mile trail. The area was designated as the Lava Cast Forest Geological Area in April 1942 by the United States Forest Service, which included of land in the region. Known to the American public since 1928, by the mid-1940s the Lava Cast Forest was visited by thousands of tourists each year. In the mid-1970s, the region had 150,000 tourist visitors annually, with the Lava Lands Visitors Center built by the Forest Service in September 1975. The trail to the volcano's summit at Paulina Peak lasts from Highway 97, with an easy paved road to the caldera and four rest stops, though it grows steep and twisty near the end. The winding trail near the end is made of gravel and lasts for three miles, offering views of
Mount Hood Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...
,
Mount McLoughlin Mount McLoughlin is a dormant steep-sided stratovolcano, or composite volcano, in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon, United States. Located in the Sky Lakes Wilderness, it is one of the volcanic peaks in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, within the ...
, and the Three Sisters volcanoes.


Notes

* Other sources list the elevation of Paulina Peak as or . * At a depth of under Newberry, p- and
s-wave __NOTOC__ In seismology and other areas involving elastic waves, S waves, secondary waves, or shear waves (sometimes called elastic S waves) are a type of elastic wave and are one of the two main types of elastic body waves, so named because t ...
velocities increase, which has been interpreted via
tomography Tomography is imaging by sections or sectioning that uses any kind of penetrating wave. The method is used in radiology, archaeology, biology, atmospheric science, geophysics, oceanography, plasma physics, materials science, cosmochemistry, ast ...
as the top of the subducting Juan de Fuca tectonic plate. This differs from earthquake data suggesting the surface of the plate lies at a depth of .


References


Sources

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External links

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Database for the Geologic Map of Newberry Volcano, Deschutes, Klamath, and Lake Counties, Oregon
– United States Geological Survey {{authority control Calderas of Oregon Cascade Volcanoes Volcanic crater lakes Fissure vents Geology of Oregon Hotspot volcanoes Lava domes of the United States Lava tubes Mountains of Deschutes County, Oregon Mountains of Klamath County, Oregon Mountains of Lake County, Oregon Mountains of Oregon National Natural Landmarks in Oregon Newberry National Volcanic Monument Polygenetic shield volcanoes Pyroclastic cones Dormant volcanoes Shield volcanoes of the United States Subduction volcanoes Volcanoes of Deschutes County, Oregon Volcanoes of Klamath County, Oregon Stratovolcanoes of Oregon Pleistocene shield volcanoes Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Holocene shield volcanoes Holocene stratovolcanoes Stratovolcanoes with shield volcano characteristics