Mount Bachelor
Find U.S. Volcano
At 2,764 meters (9,068 feet) high, Mount Bachelor is the prominent peak just south of the Three Sisters in central Oregon.
Quick Facts
Location: Oregon, Deschutes County
Latitude: 43.979° N
Longitude: 121.688° W
Elevation: 2,764 (m) 9,068 (f)
Volcano type: Stratovolcano
Composition: Basalt to Andesite
Most recent eruption: About 9,500 years ago
Threat Potential: Moderate*
*based on the National Volcano Early Warning System
Summary
It is located within the Deschutes National Forest, 20 km west-southwest of Bend, Oregon. Mount Bachelor is the largest volcano in the 25-km-long, north-south trending, Mount Bachelor volcanic chain, which is composed of numerous cinder cones, lava flows, and shield volcanoes and covers and area of nearly 250 km2 (100 mi2). Eruptions of the chain began during or closely following the retreat of late Pleistocene glaciers (after about 18 ka) and ended before the eruption of Mount Mazama (Crater Lake at 7.7 ka), with the main pulse of activity lasting perhaps only 3,000 years. The volcanic chain produced mainly lava flows and near-vent tephra falls. The chain is typical of one style of mafic (basalt to andesite) volcanism found throughout the Cascades Volcanic Arc—effusive eruptions from aligned short-lived volcanic vents.
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
