A volcanic field is an area of

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

's crust that is prone to localized

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

activity. The type and number of volcanoes required to be called a "field" is not well-defined. Volcanic fields usually consist of clusters of up to 100 volcanoes such as

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 ...

Lava 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 ...

flows may also occur. They may occur as a

monogenetic volcanic field A monogenetic volcanic field is a type of volcanic field consisting of a group of small monogenetic volcanoes, each of which erupts only once, as opposed to polygenetic volcanoes, which erupt repeatedly over a period of time. The small monogenetic ...

or a polygenetic volcanic field.

Description

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

observed in 1823 that geologically young volcanoes are not distributed uniformly across the Earth's surface, but tend to be clustered into specific regions. Young volcanoes are rarely found within

craton A craton ( , , or ; from "strength") is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere, which consists of Earth's two topmost layers, the crust and the uppermost mantle. Having often survived cycles of merging and rifting of contine ...

s, but are characteristic of

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 ...

zones,

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 ...

s, or in ocean basins. Intraplate volcanoes are clustered along hotspot traces. Within regions of volcanic activity, volcanic fields are clusters of volcanoes that share a common magma source. Unlike a large volcano with satellite or subsidiary vents, a volcanic field's vents have their own source of magma, possibly of different compositions (such as

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 ...

and

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 ...

), and these vents may span an area of thousands of square miles.

Scoria cone A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep, conical landform of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic ash, clinkers, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or l ...

s are particularly prone to cluster into volcanic fields, which are typically in diameter and consist of several tens to several hundred individual cones. The unusually large

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (), also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the (''Snowy Mountain Range''), is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks have snow all year long, and dur ...

has nearly 1000 cones covering an area of .Schmincke 2003, p.100

Examples

Canada

Atlin Volcanic Field The Atlin Volcanic Field, also called the Llangorse Volcanic Field and the Surprise Lake Volcanic Field, is a group of late-Pleistocene to Holocene cinder cones that lies on the Teslin Plateau east of Atlin Lake, Canada. The largest volcanic fe ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

* Desolation Lava Field, British Columbia * Garibaldi Lake volcanic field, British Columbia * Mount Cayley volcanic field, British Columbia *

Snowshoe Lava Field The Snowshoe Lava Field (SLF) is a largely buried volcanic field at Mount Edziza in British Columbia, Canada. It reaches an elevation of and engulfs more than of the Big Raven Plateau and adjacent valleys with blocky lava flows. The Snowshoe L ...

, British Columbia * Tuya Volcanic Field, British Columbia *

Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field, also called the Clearwater Cone Group, is a potentially active monogenetic volcanic field in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located approximately north of Kamloops, British Columbia, Kamloops. It ...

, British Columbia *

Wrangell Volcanic Field The Wrangell Volcanic Field is a volcanic field stretching from eastern Alaska in the United States to the southwestern Yukon Territory in Canada. The field includes the four highest volcanoes in the United States, Mount Bona, Mount Blackburn, ...

Yukon Territory Yukon () is a territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s westernmost territory and the smallest ...

Mexico

* San Quintín Volcanic Field,

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

* Durango volcanic field,

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

United States

* Boring Lava Field,

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 ...

* Central Colorado volcanic field,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

* Clear Lake Volcanic Field,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

* Coso Volcanic Field, California * Indian Heaven, Washington *

Jemez Mountains The Jemez Mountains (, Tewa: ''Tsąmpiye'ip'įn'', Navajo: ''Dził Łizhinii'') are a group of mountains in Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico, United States. Numerous Puebloan Indian tribes have lived in the Jemez Moun ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

* Latir volcanic field,

* Marysvale Volcanic Field,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

* Raton-Clayton volcanic field,

* San Bernardino Volcanic Field, Arizona *

San Francisco volcanic field The San Francisco volcanic field is an area of volcanoes in northern Arizona, north of Flagstaff, US. The field covers 1,800 square miles (4,700 km2) of the southern boundary of the Colorado Plateau. The field contains 600 volcanoes rangi ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

* San Juan volcanic field, Colorado * Taos Plateau volcanic field,

Taos County, New Mexico Taos County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,489. Its county seat is Taos. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties in New Mexico Territory. Taos County com ...

* Trans-Pecos Volcanic Field,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Iceland

* Sundhnúkur crater row, Reykjanes Peninsula * Central Highlands volcanic field * Vatnajökull volcanic field, South Highlands * Eyjafjallajökull caldera, South Highlands * Ódáðahraun lava-field * Oddnýjarhnjúkur-Langjökull volcanic field * Krýsuvík volcanic field * Laugahraun volcanic field

Africa

* Atakor volcanic field, Algeria * Bayuda Volcanic Field, Sudan * Haruj,

Fezzan Fezzan ( , ; ; ; ) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise in ...

, Libya * In Teria volcanic field, Algeria * Manzaz volcanic field, Algeria * Meidob Volcanic Field, Sudan * Nemours-Nedroma, Algeria * Oujda volcanic field, Morocco * Oulmés volcanic field, Morocco * Rekkame volcanic field, Morocco * Todra volcanic field, Niger

Others

* Aguas Zarcas volcanic field,

Alajuela Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela (canton), Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of ...

, Costa Rica * Antofagasta de la Sierra volcanic field, Antofagasta de la Sierra Department,

Catamarca Province Catamarca () is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province had a population of 429,556 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km2. Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are (clockwise, f ...

, Argentina * Auckland volcanic field,

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

, New Zealand * Tawau volcanic field,

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

, Malaysia * Central Skåne Volcanic Province, Sweden * Chaîne des Puys,

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

, France * Cu-Lao Re Group, Vietnam * Laguna Volcanic Field, Philippines * Newer Volcanics Province, Australia * Vulkan Eifel, Germany *

Jeju Island Jeju Island (Jeju language, Jeju/) is South Korea's largest island, covering an area of , which is 1.83% of the total area of the country. Alongside outlying islands, it is part of Jeju Province and makes up the majority of the province. The i ...

, South Korea

References

{{Authority control Volcanoes Volcanology