Indian Heaven Volcanic Field
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Indian Heaven volcanic field is located 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Mount Adams in southern Washington.
Quick Facts
Location: Washington, Skamania County
Latitude: 45.93° N
Longitude: 121.82° W
Elevation: 1,806 (m) 5,925 (f)
Volcano type: Shield volcanoes
Composition: Basalt to Andesite
Most recent eruption: 9,000 years ago
Threat Potential: Low/Very Low*
*based on the National Volcano Early Warning System
Summary
The 450-km2 (175-mi2) volcanic field is a region of overlapping basalt to andesite shields and cinder cones – 80% of the eruptive products are basalt, making Indian Heaven the most voluminous field of Quaternary basalt anywhere in the Cascades north of Newberry in central Oregon. About half of the 50 known vents define a 30-km- (19-mi-) long highland that trends north to south, roughly parallel to the Cascade Range axis of southern Washington. Eruptions from the field occurred from the middle Pleistocene to the Holocene, and individual lava flows with extensive lava tube systems travelled up to 46 km (about 30 mi) from source. The youngest eruption about 9,000 years ago produced Big Lava Bed (nearly 1 km3, 0.25 mi3) at the south end of the field. Lava flows that form the bed travelled nearly 25 km (15 mi) south of its main vent. Notable features of Indian Heaven volcanic field are some ice-contact volcanoes.