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Circles of varying sizes depicting eruption volumes for volcanic eruptions in the USA
Comparison of caldera-forming eruption sizes in the USA
Comparison of caldera-forming eruption sizes in the USA
Comparison of caldera-forming eruption sizes in the USA

Comparison of caldera-forming eruption sizes (by volume of erupted magma) in the U.S., modified from an AVO/USGS figure. Also included for reference is the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The three caldera-forming eruptions in Alaska are more than 200 times the size of the 1980 eruption of Mount St.

Comparison of caldera-forming eruption sizes (by volume of erupted magma) in the U.S., modified from an AVO/USGS figure. Also included for reference is the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The three caldera-forming eruptions in Alaska are more than 200 times the size of the 1980 eruption of Mount St.

This shaded relief map shows the Long Valley Caldera, Lake Crowley, and the town of Mammoth Lakes. Highway 395 cuts diagonally across the caldera from northwest to southeast. In the center of the map, a label shows the location of GPS station KRAC/KRAK.
Location of GPS (GNSS) station KRAC/KRAK in the Long Valley Caldera
Location of GPS (GNSS) station KRAC/KRAK in the Long Valley Caldera
Location of GPS (GNSS) station KRAC/KRAK in the Long Valley Caldera

The location of GPS station KRAC and its predecessor KRAK, slightly north of the center of deflation in Long Valley. USGS figure by Josh Crozier and Alicia Hotovec-Ellis.

This map shows the Mono Lake - Long Valley region and part of the Sierra Nevada to the south. The landscape is shown in shades of gray while earthquakes are depicted with orange dots scaled according to the earthquake's magnitude. Black lines indicate where seismic monitoring boxes are drawn around Mono Lake, the Long Valley Caldera, the Sierra Nevada, and Mammoth Mountain.
Map of the Long Valley region with earthquakes from 2025
Map of the Long Valley region with earthquakes from 2025
Map of the Long Valley region with earthquakes from 2025

Locations of earthquakes of at least magnitude 1.0 in 2025 and the outlines of the boxes CalVO uses to count earthquakes around Long Valley. Only 6 earthquakes were located inside the Long Valley Caldera box. (Earthquake location data from Northern California Seismic Network.) Figure by Alicia Hotovec-Ellis, USGS. 

Locations of earthquakes of at least magnitude 1.0 in 2025 and the outlines of the boxes CalVO uses to count earthquakes around Long Valley. Only 6 earthquakes were located inside the Long Valley Caldera box. (Earthquake location data from Northern California Seismic Network.) Figure by Alicia Hotovec-Ellis, USGS. 

Two line graphs show the yearly number of earthquakes over since 1980 in the Long Valley Caldera and the Sierra Nevada south of the caldera. Several annotations write out the numbers of earthquakes in a few years, including 2025.
Earthquakes per year from 1980-2026 in Long Valley and the nearby Sierra Nevada
Earthquakes per year from 1980-2026 in Long Valley and the nearby Sierra Nevada
Earthquakes per year from 1980-2026 in Long Valley and the nearby Sierra Nevada

Graphs of the number of earthquakes located each year since 1980 in the Long Valley Caldera and nearby Sierra Block monitoring boxes. Note that the number of earthquakes on the left shown on a logarithmic scale, which means they increase an order of magnitude with each "step." Figure by Alicia Hotovec-Ellis, USGS.

Graphs of the number of earthquakes located each year since 1980 in the Long Valley Caldera and nearby Sierra Block monitoring boxes. Note that the number of earthquakes on the left shown on a logarithmic scale, which means they increase an order of magnitude with each "step." Figure by Alicia Hotovec-Ellis, USGS.

Rock outcrops showing rhyolite lava flow textures from Long Valley and Yellowstone calderas
Rhyolite lava flow textures from Long Valley and Yellowstone calderas
Rhyolite lava flow textures from Long Valley and Yellowstone calderas
Rhyolite lava flow textures from Long Valley and Yellowstone calderas

Rhyolite lava flow textures from Long Valley and Yellowstone calderas.  A) Photograph of well-developed spherulites in a lava flow from Long Valley Caldera in Eastern California. This high-silica rhyolite flow is very similar to the Central Plateau Member rhyolites of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field and exhibits many of the same textures.

Rhyolite lava flow textures from Long Valley and Yellowstone calderas.  A) Photograph of well-developed spherulites in a lava flow from Long Valley Caldera in Eastern California. This high-silica rhyolite flow is very similar to the Central Plateau Member rhyolites of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field and exhibits many of the same textures.

A broad, flat plain covered in dull green sagebrush stretches away from the viewer in this panorama. The photo is being taken from a rocky hill, with snow-capped, sharp peaks on the far side of the plain and low raised hills on the right side of the photo. One geologist is sitting on the rocks at lower right and one geologist is standing and giving a peace sign.
Panoramic view of the Long Valley Caldera from its north side
Panoramic view of the Long Valley Caldera from its north side
Panoramic view of the Long Valley Caldera from its north side

This panorama of the Long Valley Caldera, looking from north to south, shows its broad central plain, post-caldera rhyolite flows and uplift on the right, and eastern Sierra Nevada in the background. USGS photo by Jessica Ball.

This panorama of the Long Valley Caldera, looking from north to south, shows its broad central plain, post-caldera rhyolite flows and uplift on the right, and eastern Sierra Nevada in the background. USGS photo by Jessica Ball.

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