The Springdale Caldera is a large
Early Silurian 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 west-central
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. It is at least long and wide, covering an area of more than . It is one of the few calderas in Newfoundland that form a large Silurian age
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 ...
.
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 ...
,
andesite
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
pyroclastic rock
Pyroclastic rocks are clastic rocks composed of rock fragments produced and ejected by explosive volcanic eruptions. The individual rock fragments are known as pyroclasts. Pyroclastic rocks are a type of volcaniclastic deposit, which are deposit ...
s,
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,
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 ...
s and red
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
are present at the Springdale Caldera.
Geology of the Springdale Group: a newly recognized Silurian epicontinental-type caldera in Newfoundland
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See also
*Volcanism of Canada
Volcanic activity is a major part of the geology of Canada and is characterized by many types of volcanic landform, including lava flows, volcanic plateaus, lava domes, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, submarine volcanoes, calder ...
*Volcanism of Eastern Canada
The volcanism of Eastern Canada includes the hundreds of volcanic areas and extensive lava formations in Eastern Canada. The region's different volcano and lava types originate from different tectonic settings and types of volcanic eruptions, rang ...
*List of volcanoes in Canada
List of volcanoes in Canada is an incomplete list of volcanoes found in Geography of Canada, mainland Canada, in the Islands of Canada, Canadian islands and in Canadian waters. All but two Provinces of Canada, provinces, Prince Edward Island and ...
References
External links
The Springdale Caldera: A Field Guide for the Annual Field Meeting of the Geological Association of Canada, Newfoundland BranchDiscordant Silurian paleolatitudes for central Newfoundland: New paleomagnetic evidence from the Springdale GroupSulurian Orogeny in the Newfoundland AppalachiansDiscordant Sulrian PaleolatitudesGeology, geochemistry and geochronology of the Springdale Group, an early Silurian Caldera in central Newfoundland
Calderas of Newfoundland and Labrador
Silurian calderas
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