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A conical, gray, rocky hill rises above a wetland and waterway dotted with bright white wading birds
Salton Buttes
Salton Buttes
Salton Buttes

The Salton Buttes volcanic field is the youngest and southernmost of the fields associated with the North American and Pacific plate boundary. Five obsidian rhyolite domes erupted on the southern shore of the Salton Sea between 6000 and 500 years ago. The area is active geothermally and seismically, with numerous hot springs and mudpots on the surface. 

The Salton Buttes volcanic field is the youngest and southernmost of the fields associated with the North American and Pacific plate boundary. Five obsidian rhyolite domes erupted on the southern shore of the Salton Sea between 6000 and 500 years ago. The area is active geothermally and seismically, with numerous hot springs and mudpots on the surface. 

Small explosion of dark gray mud rises from a steaming patch of muddy ground. Around the mud pot are other patches of steam.
Salton Sea mud pot
Salton Sea mud pot
Salton Sea mud pot

A mud pot releases a burst of gas in the Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field near the Salton Sea. The geothermal area here is related to the same faulting and volcanic system which created the Salton Buttes lava domes. USGS photo by Deb Bergfeld, 2016.

A mud pot releases a burst of gas in the Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field near the Salton Sea. The geothermal area here is related to the same faulting and volcanic system which created the Salton Buttes lava domes. USGS photo by Deb Bergfeld, 2016.

Sunset illuminates a scattering of mud cones, bubbling pools, and steaming pits on a muddy, footprint-riddled surface.
Mudpots near Salton Buttes on the edge of the Salton Sea
Mudpots near Salton Buttes on the edge of the Salton Sea
Mudpots near Salton Buttes on the edge of the Salton Sea

Mudpots bubble and steam near the Salton Buttes lava domes, a volcanic area at the southeastern end of the Salton Sea, California.

Mudpots bubble and steam near the Salton Buttes lava domes, a volcanic area at the southeastern end of the Salton Sea, California.

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