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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

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 inevitable.The

Authors
Margaret Mangan, Jessica Ball, Nathan Wood, Jamie L. Jones, Jeff Peters, Nina Abdollahian, Laura Dinitz, Sharon Blankenheim, Johanna Fenton, Cynthia Pridmore

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

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 Survey Californ

Authors
Wendy K. Stovall, Mae Marcaida, Margaret T. Mangan

Science

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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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