Zuni-Bandera volcanic field (also known as Bandera lava field, Grants Malpais and Malpais volcanic field) is a

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 ...

located in the state of

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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The volcanic field has been considered for geothermal exploitation. It is on the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated New Mexico Scenic Byways.

Origins

The Zuni-Bandera volcanic field lies along the

Jemez Lineament The Jemez Lineament is a chain of late Cenozoic volcanic fields, long, reaching from the Springerville and White Mountains volcanic fields in East-Central Arizona to the Raton-Clayton volcanic field in Northeastern New Mexico. The lineament w ...

, a zone of weakness in the lower crust and upper mantle that allows

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

formed in the mantle to reach the surface. The magmas erupted in the field includes both tholeiitic basalt (an iron-rich basalt with a low

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The a ...

content) and alkaline basalt. The tholeiitic basalt shows chemical and isotopic signatures of magma formed from the

spinel Spinel () is the magnesium/aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula in the cubic crystal system. Its name comes from the Latin word , a diminutive form of ''spine,'' in reference to its pointed crystals. Prop ...

-rich mantle rock of 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 ...

, the outer rigid shell of the Earth that includes the crust and uppermost mantle. The alkaline basalt, by contrast, formed from the

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...

-rich mantle rock of the

asthenosphere The asthenosphere () is the mechanically weak and ductile region of the upper mantle of Earth. It lies below the lithosphere, at a depth between c. below the surface, and extends as deep as . However, the lower boundary of the asthenosphere i ...

, the

ductile Ductility refers to the ability of a material to sustain significant plastic deformation before fracture. Plastic deformation is the permanent distortion of a material under applied stress, as opposed to elastic deformation, which is reversi ...

region of the mantle just below the lithosphere. Little crustal material was assimilated into the magmas, although the tholeiitic magma experienced some fractional crystallization at shallow depths in the crust.

Exploration

A significant portion of the volcanic field is part of the El Malpais National Monument. Several of the lava tubes are available for exploration by permit. In addition, hiking trails enable visitors to see the lava field's unique characteristics. Lava field at El Malpais

Bandera Crater

Located on private property at and possessing a height of , Bandera Crater last erupted between 9,500 and 10,900 years ago. The nearly 17.5 mile long

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 ...

emanating from this crater is the longest in North America. Most of the lava tube has collapsed but portions still remain as caves. One of these caves contains an over 900 year old ice cave and can be accessed by the public. The land that contains the ice cave was purchased by Sylvestre Mirabal in the early 1900s. Mirabal mined the ice in the ice cave to cool the beer in a saloon that he operated. His daughter married into the Candelaria family, which continues to own and operate the ice cave to this day. Ice mining was halted in 1946. The ice cave, itself, never gets above 31 °F. It is currently 20 ft thick and has a green hue due to Arctic algae.

Other Notable Vents

References

{{Quaternary Footer Malpaíses (landform) Volcanic fields of New Mexico Landforms of Cibola County, New Mexico Lava fields Pliocene volcanism Pleistocene volcanism Dormant volcanoes Neogene geology of New Mexico Quaternary New Mexico Pliocene United States Pleistocene United States Basin and Range Province

Origins

Exploration

Bandera Crater

Other Notable Vents

See also

References