Ubehebe Craters
Find U.S. Volcano
Ubehebe (pronounced you-bee-HEE-bee) Craters, located about 225 km (140 mi) northwest of Las Vegas, NV, and 88 km (55 mi) southeast of Bishop, CA, in Death Valley National Park, consists of thirteen overlapping volcanic craters. The largest crater is about 800 m (0.5 mi) wide and 250 m (800 ft) deep.
Quick Facts
Location: California, Inyo County
Latitude: 37.02° N
Longitude: 117.45° W
Elevation: 752 (m) 2,467 (f)
Volcano type: maar and tuff ring
Composition: basalt
Most recent eruption: 2100 years ago
Threat Potential: Moderate*
*based on the National Volcano Early Warning System
Summary
Ubehebe Craters formed during a series of explosions set off as molten rock (basaltic magma) rising toward the Earth's surface flashed groundwater to steam (phreatic eruption). The explosive magma-water interaction blasted pulverized rock high into the air so that the ejected deposits are comprised of both basaltic lava (about a third) and fragments of sandstone and gravel from the preexisting landscape (about two thirds). Debris from the explosions blankets an area of about 40 km2 (15 mi2). Research by CalVO scientists suggests the set of crater-forming blasts may have taken place in response to a single batch of rising magma. The eruptive episode probably lasted a few days or weeks and took place about 2100 years ago.
The California Volcano Observatory has only one seismometer in the vicinity of Ubehebe Craters, which, along with the region-wide network of USGS seismometers, will alert us to any future volcanic unrest. Presently, Ubehebe Craters is ranked as a Moderate Threat volcano in the USGS volcanic threat assessment (USGS Open-File Report 2005-1164, 2005). Threat rankings of all US volcanoes are periodically reviewed and may be revised as new research is published.
The word Ubehebe is Native American in origin and means "big basket in the rock."
Publications
Lateral extent of pyroclastic surge deposits at Ubehebe Crater (Death Valley, CA) and implications for hazards in monogenetic volcanic fields
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 inevitable.The
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. This update
