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Mono-Inyo Craters

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The Mono-Inyo Craters are a 29-km (18 mi) long chain of silicic lava domes, lava flows, and explosion craters found along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range between Mono Lake and Long Valley Caldera.

Quick Facts

Location: California, Mono County

Latitude: 37.82° N

Longitude: 119.02° W

Elevation: 2,629 (m) 8,625 (f)

Volcano type: lava domes

Composition: rhyolite

Most recent eruption: about 300 years ago

Nearby towns: Crestview, Mammoth Lakes

Threat Potential: High*

*based on the National Volcano Early Warning System

Summary

Mono Craters comprise the northern portion of the chain and form an arcuate, 17-km (10.5 km) long group of 30 or more dike-fed eruption centers. Explosive eruptions at Mono Craters began more than 50,000 years ago from now-buried vents, but almost all of the exposed domes and flows are of Holocene age. The Inyo Craters are a 12-km (7.5 mi) long chain of volcanic features similar to the northern-lying Mono Craters. The latest eruptions at Mono-Inyo Craters took place about 600 years ago when explosive eruptions and lava flows produced tephra deposits and obsidian lava domes. Eruptions on Paoha Island, the northern tip of the chain also known as Mono Lake Volcanic Field, occurred approximately 300 years ago.

News

Visualizing volcanic volumes

Visualizing volcanic volumes

Unpacking CalVO's new seismic monitoring boxes

Unpacking CalVO's new seismic monitoring boxes

New geochronology reveals the volcanic history of Mono Craters

New geochronology reveals the volcanic history of Mono Craters

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Publications

California’s exposure to volcanic hazards

The potential for damaging earthquakes, landslides, floods, tsunamis, and wildfires is widely recognized in California. The same cannot be said for volcanic eruptions, despite the fact that they occur in the state about as frequently as the largest earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault. At least ten eruptions have taken place in the past 1,000 years, and future volcanic eruptions are...
Authors
Margaret Mangan, Jessica Ball, Nathan Wood, Jamie L. Jones, Jeff Peters, Nina Abdollahian, Laura Dinitz, Sharon Blankenheim, Johanna Fenton, Cynthia Pridmore
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, California Volcano Observatory, Clear Lake Volcanic Field, Coso Volcanic Field, Lassen Volcanic Center, Long Valley Caldera, Mammoth Mountain, Medicine Lake, Mono Lake Volcanic Field, Mono-Inyo Craters, Mount Shasta, Salton Buttes, Soda Lakes, Ubehebe Craters

2018 update to the U.S. Geological Survey national volcanic threat assessment

When erupting, all volcanoes pose a degree of risk to people and infrastructure, however, the risks are not equivalent from one volcano to another because of differences in eruptive style and geographic location. Assessing the relative threats posed by U.S. volcanoes identifies which volcanoes warrant the greatest risk-mitigation efforts by the U.S. Geological Survey and its partners...
Authors
John W. Ewert, Angela K. Diefenbach, David W. Ramsey
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Agrigan, Ahyi Seamount, Alamagan, Anatahan, Asuncion, Belknap, Black Butte Crater Lava Field, Black Rock Desert Volcanic Field, Blue Lake Crater, Carrizozo Lava Flow, Cascade Range Weekly Update, Cinnamon Butte, Clear Lake Volcanic Field, Coso Volcanic Field, Crater Lake, Craters of the Moon Volcanic Field, Daikoku Seamount , Davis Lake Volcanic Field, Devils Garden Lava Field, Diamond Craters Volcanic Field, Dotsero Volcanic Center, East Diamante, Esmeralda Bank, Farallon de Pajaros, Fukujin Seamount , Glacier Peak, Guguan, Haleakalā, Hell's Half Acre Lava Field, Hualālai, Indian Heaven Volcanic Field, Jordan Craters Volcanic Field, Kama‘ehuakanaloa, Kasuga 2, Kīlauea, Lassen Volcanic Center, Long Valley Caldera, Mammoth Mountain, Markagunt Plateau Volcanic Field, Maug Islands, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Medicine Lake, Mono Lake Volcanic Field, Mono-Inyo Craters, Mount Adams, Mount Bachelor, Mount Baker, Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Mount Rainier, Mount Shasta, Mount St. Helens, Newberry, Ofu-Olosega, Pagan, Red Hill-Quemado Volcanic Field, Ruby, Salton Buttes, San Francisco Volcanic Field, Sand Mountain Volcanic Field, Sarigan, Soda Lakes, South Sarigan Seamount, Supply Reef, Ta'u Island, Three Sisters, Tutuila Island, Ubehebe Craters, Uinkaret Volcanic Field, Valles Caldera, Wapi Lava Field, Weekly Update, West Crater Volcanic Field, Yellowstone, Zealandia Bank, Zuni-Bandera Volcanic Field

The California Volcano Observatory: Monitoring the state's restless volcanoes

Volcanic eruptions happen in the State of California about as frequently as the largest earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault Zone. At least 10 eruptions have taken place in California in the past 1,000 years—most recently at Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park (1914 to 1917) in the northern part of the State—and future volcanic eruptions are inevitable. The U.S. Geological...
Authors
Wendy K. Stovall, Mae Marcaida, Margaret T. Mangan
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Clear Lake Volcanic Field, Coso Volcanic Field, Lassen Volcanic Center, Long Valley Caldera, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake Volcanic Field, Mono-Inyo Craters, Mount Shasta, Salton Buttes, Soda Lakes, Ubehebe Craters
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Science

link
Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

Deformation monitoring at Mono-Inyo Craters

The GPS receivers near the Mono-Inyo Chain are part of the 46 instruments that make up the Long Valley Caldera monitoring network.
By
Mono-Inyo Craters
link

Deformation monitoring at Mono-Inyo Craters

The GPS receivers near the Mono-Inyo Chain are part of the 46 instruments that make up the Long Valley Caldera monitoring network.
Learn More
link
Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

Seismic monitoring at Mono-Inyo Craters

The seismometers located near the Mono-Inyo Chain are part of the greater Long Valley Caldera seismic network array.
By
California Volcano Observatory, Mono-Inyo Craters
link

Seismic monitoring at Mono-Inyo Craters

The seismometers located near the Mono-Inyo Chain are part of the greater Long Valley Caldera seismic network array.
Learn More
link
Map shows hazard zone for pyroclastic flows and surges around exist...

Hazards Summary for Mono-Inyo Craters

Eruptions of explosion craters and lava domes, like Mono-Inyo, can include several hazard types. Minor tephra will accompany explosions and early vent opening. Lava flows will cover everything in their path, including roadways and infrastructure. Volcanic gases will be present in varying concentrations throughout eruption. The most dangerous possible hazards are pyroclastic flows and surges.
By
California Volcano Observatory, Mono-Inyo Craters
link

Hazards Summary for Mono-Inyo Craters

Eruptions of explosion craters and lava domes, like Mono-Inyo, can include several hazard types. Minor tephra will accompany explosions and early vent opening. Lava flows will cover everything in their path, including roadways and infrastructure. Volcanic gases will be present in varying concentrations throughout eruption. The most dangerous possible hazards are pyroclastic flows and surges.
Learn More
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Quick Facts

Location: California, Mono County

Latitude: 37.82° N

Longitude: 119.02° W

Elevation: 2,629 (m) 8,625 (f)

Volcano type: lava domes

Composition: rhyolite

Most recent eruption: about 300 years ago

Nearby towns: Crestview, Mammoth Lakes

Threat Potential: High*

*based on the National Volcano Early Warning System

Volcanoes Hazards Program Links

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