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Cinnamon Butte

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Cinnamon Butte is a basaltic scoria cone and lava flow field on the west flank of the High Cascades about 30 km (19 mi) north of Crater Lake. 

Quick Facts

Location: Oregon, Douglas County

Latitude: 43.241° N

Longitude: 122.108° W

Elevation: 1,956 (m) 6,417 (f)

Volcano type: Scoria cone

Composition: Basalt

Most recent eruption: between 7,780 and 15,000 years ago

Threat Potential: Low/Very Low*

*based on the National Volcano Early Warning System

Summary

The Cinnamon Butte cone marks the vent for blocky basaltic lava flows (SiO2 about 52 percent) that oozed northwest into the headwaters of the North Umpqua River. Covering about 28 km2 (11 mi2), the lava flows and cone together include only about 0.1-0.2 km3 of magma. Thus their eruptive style and volume make them characteristic for a small eruption in the Cascade Range.

What makes Cinnamon Butte notable, however, is that it is relatively young, having formed between about 7,780 and 15,000 years ago. Ages are constrained due to the eruption deposits relationships to well known geologic events. The cone and its lava flows are covered by the extensive tephra fallout and pyroclastic flow deposits from Mount Mazama (Crater Lake), and therefore must be older than about 7,700 yr. The Cinnamon Butte lava flows must be younger than about 15,000 years because they partly bury moraines of the last major glaciation.

Publications

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

Authors
John W. Ewert, Angela K. Diefenbach, David W. Ramsey
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