Mono Lake Volcanic Field

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The Mono Lake volcanic field, east of Yosemite National Park and north of the Mono Craters, consists of vents within Mono Lake and on its north shore. The most recent eruptive activity in the Long Valley to Mono Lake region took place about 300 years ago, when lake-bottom sediments forming much of Paoha Island were uplifted by intrusion of a rhyolitic cryptodome.

Quick Facts

Location: California, Mono County

Latitude: 38° N

Longitude: 119.03° W

Elevation: 2,121 (m) 6,959 (f)

Volcano type: volcanic field

Composition: basalt to rhyolite

Most recent eruption: 300 years ago

Nearby towns: Lee Vining

Threat Potential: Moderate*

_{*based on the National Volcano Early Warning System}

Summary

The most topographically prominent feature of Mono Lake volcanic field is Black Point, which rises above the northwest shore. It was formed as a sublacustral (below lake level) basaltic cone about 13,300 years ago when the water level at Mono Lake was higher. Lava domes and flows from Negit and parts of Paoha islands within Mono Lake. The most recent eruptive activity in the Long Valley to Mono Lake region took place about 300 years ago when lake-bottom sediments forming much of Paoha Island were uplifted by the intrusion of a rhyolitic crypto dome. Spectacular tufa towers line the shores of Mono Lake.

News

August 28, 2024

Mythology and hydrology at Paoha Island, Mono Lake Volcanic Field

May 31, 2023

Having a (volcanic) field day in California

April 20, 2021

New survey plumbs Mono Lake's depths for hydrothermal heat

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Publications

February 25, 2019

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...

Authors

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

Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, California Volcano Observatory, Clear Lake Volcanic Field, Coso Volcanic Field, Lassen Volcanic Center, Long Valley Caldera, Mammoth Mountain, Medicine Lake, Mono Lake Volcanic Field, Mono-Inyo Craters, Mount Shasta, Salton Buttes, Soda Lakes, Ubehebe Craters

October 22, 2018

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...

Authors

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

Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Agrigan, Ahyi Seamount, Alamagan, Anatahan, Asuncion, Belknap, Black Butte Crater Lava Field, Black Rock Desert Volcanic Field, Blue Lake Crater, Carrizozo Lava Flow, Cascade Range Weekly Update, Cinnamon Butte, Clear Lake Volcanic Field, Coso Volcanic Field, Crater Lake, Craters of the Moon Volcanic Field, Daikoku Seamount , Davis Lake Volcanic Field, Devils Garden Lava Field, Diamond Craters Volcanic Field, Dotsero Volcanic Center, East Diamante, Esmeralda Bank, Farallon de Pajaros, Fukujin Seamount , Glacier Peak, Guguan, Haleakalā, Hell's Half Acre Lava Field, Hualālai, Indian Heaven Volcanic Field, Jordan Craters Volcanic Field, Kama‘ehuakanaloa, Kasuga 2, Kīlauea, Lassen Volcanic Center, Long Valley Caldera, Mammoth Mountain, Markagunt Plateau Volcanic Field, Maug Islands, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Medicine Lake, Mono Lake Volcanic Field, Mono-Inyo Craters, Mount Adams, Mount Bachelor, Mount Baker, Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Mount Rainier, Mount Shasta, Mount St. Helens, Newberry, Ofu-Olosega, Pagan, Red Hill-Quemado Volcanic Field, Ruby, Salton Buttes, San Francisco Volcanic Field, Sand Mountain Volcanic Field, Sarigan, Soda Lakes, South Sarigan Seamount, Supply Reef, Ta'u Island, Three Sisters, Tutuila Island, Ubehebe Craters, Uinkaret Volcanic Field, Valles Caldera, Wapi Lava Field, Weekly Update, West Crater Volcanic Field, Yellowstone, Zealandia Bank, Zuni-Bandera Volcanic Field

December 10, 2014

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...

Authors

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

Natural Hazards Mission Area, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Clear Lake Volcanic Field, Coso Volcanic Field, Lassen Volcanic Center, Long Valley Caldera, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake Volcanic Field, Mono-Inyo Craters, Mount Shasta, Salton Buttes, Soda Lakes, Ubehebe Craters

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Science

Negit Island in Mono Lake, California....

November 6, 2023

Paoha and Negit Islands, Mono Lake, California

The islands of Mono Lake were built by recent eruptions of lava and cinder and by uplift of the shallow lake bottom caused by the rise of magma beneath the lake. The two islands are less than about 2,000 years old, and the lava flows on the north flank of Paoha Island are only about 250 years old.

California Volcano Observatory, Mono Lake Volcanic Field

November 6, 2023