Newberry Volcano

Newberry Volcano

Newberry Volcano is a large active shield volcano located about 20 miles south of Bend, Oregon, United States. It is the largest volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, and has roughly the same area as the state of Rhode Island at 1,200 square miles. Eruptive activity at Newberry Volcano began about 600,000 years ago and has continued into the Holocene. The volcano contains a large caldera, 4 by 5 miles in diameter, known as the Newberry Caldera.

About Newberry Volcano in brief

Summary Newberry VolcanoNewberry Volcano is a large active shield volcano located about 20 miles south of Bend, Oregon, United States. It is the largest volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, and has roughly the same area as the state of Rhode Island at 1,200 square miles. Eruptive activity at Newberry Volcano began about 600,000 years ago and has continued into the Holocene, the last eruption taking place 1,300 years ago. The volcano contains a large caldera, 4 by 5 miles in diameter, known as the Newberry Caldera. It has two crater lakes, Paulina Lake and East Lake, which are filled by precipitation and precipitation percolation. The origin of the volcano remains somewhat unclear; while some scientists believe it originated from an independent hotspot, most evidence indicates that it formed from the subduction of the oceanic Juan de Fuca and Gorda tectonic plates under the continental North American Plate. Newberry lies 37 miles east of the major crest of the Cascade Range in the High Lava Plains region, rising 3,500 feet above its surroundings. A popular destination for hiking, fishing, boating, and other recreational activities, the volcano lies within 19 miles of 16,400 people and within 62 miles of nearly 200,000 people, and it continues to pose a threat to life. The area has a dry climate with low precipitation levels and little surface runoff. Each year, total precipitation consisting of winter snow and summer rain varies from 9.

8 to 29. inches in the highest parts of the region, and surface runoff rarely occurs even during heavy rain showers. Only one stream appears on Newberry’s entire surface. It remains unclear whether the volcano has ever been able to support glaciers on its slopes, since mountain erratics have been found between its slopes. The precise history of glaciers on the volcano is debated, but dry channels and dry water channels are evidence that the volcano once held water on the eastern and western slopes of the mountain. It was named for the geologist and surgeon John Strong Newberry, who explored central Oregon for the Pacific Railroad Surveys in 1855. Because of its enormous size and topographic prominence, it is often confused for an entire mountain range, and its highest point is Paulina Peak, which is 3,000 feet above sea level. It could erupt and produce lava flows, pyroclastic flows, lahars, ashfall, earthquakes, avalanches, and floods, and is still considered an active volcano by the U.S. Geological Survey. It is one of the most accessible volcanoes in the state, where it is a popular place to hike, fishing and boating. The volcano has an extremely dry climate due to its location in the rain shadow of theascade Range. Summer temperatures average from 73 to 82 °F, dipping to average minimum and maximum temperatures of −1.8 to 68. 9 F during the winter season.