Skip to main content
Back to map
CompareShow on map

United States · Lava dome

Mono–Inyo Craters

Mono-Inyo Craters

Type
Lava dome
Elevation
2796m
Last eruption
1380
Mono–Inyo Craters
Photo: NASA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Lava dome
Country
United States
Region
North America / Basin and Range Volcanic Province
Elevation
2796m
Coordinates
37.804, -119.029
Last eruption
1380
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Cluster
Major rock type
Rhyolite

Geological summary

The Mono-Inyo Craters chain, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada between Mono Lake and Long Valley caldera, form a sickle-shaped, 25-km-long group of 35 dominantly rhyolitic lava domes, lava flows, and tephra rings.

Excerpt from the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution · Read the full summary on GVP →

From Wikipedia

The Mono–Inyo Craters are a volcanic chain of craters, domes and lava flows in Mono County, Eastern California, United States. The chain stretches 25 miles (40 km) from the northwest shore of Mono Lake to the south of Mammoth Mountain. The Mono Lake Volcanic Field forms the northernmost part of the chain and consists of two volcanic islands in the lake and one cinder cone volcano on its northwest shore. Most of the Mono Craters, which make up the bulk of the northern part of the Mono–Inyo chain, are phreatic volcanoes that have since been either plugged or over-topped by rhyolite domes and lava flows. The Inyo volcanic chain form much of the southern part of the chain and consist of phreatic explosion pits, and rhyolitic lava flows and domes. The southernmost part of the chain consists of fumaroles and explosion pits on Mammoth Mountain and a set of cinder cones south of the mountain; the latter are called the Red Cones.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

13 recordedGlossary

Record summary

Confirmed eruptions
13
Uncertain eruptions
0
Span of confirmed record
6750 BCE (±1740 yrs) – 1380
Largest confirmed eruption
VEI 4 (1380, the most recent of 3)
Confirmed eruptions since 1900
0
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
6750 BCE~6479 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?4311 BCE~4040 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?4040 BCE~3769 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?788 BCE~517 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?246 BCE~25 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?25~296 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 3296~567 · 3 eruptions · max VEI ?567~838 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 4838~1109 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1109~1380 · 2 eruptions · max VEI 46750 BCE4853 BCE2685 BCE788 BCE1109

Detailed timeline

  1. 1380 (±50 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    1380 – end unknown
    Inyo Craters (S Deadman, Obsidian, Glass Creek)
  2. 1350 (±20 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    1350 – end unknown
    Mono Craters (Panum Crater, nearby vents)
  3. 1000 (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1000 – end unknown
    Mono Craters (dome on NW edge of NW Coulee)
  4. 620 (±27 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    620 – end unknown
    Southern Mono Craters (South Coulee area)
  5. 490 (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    490 – end unknown
    Mono Craters (NW Coulee and Pumice Pit dome)
  6. 440 (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    440 – end unknown
    Southern Mono Craters
  7. 320 (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    320 – end unknown
    Mono Craters (South Coulee?)
  8. 290 (±50 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    290 – end unknown
    Inyo Craters (Wilson Butte)
  9. 10 (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    10 – end unknown
    Mono Craters (South Coulee?)
  10. 700 BCE (±800 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    700 BCE – end unknown
    Central Mono Craters
  11. 3850 BCE (±1160 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    3850 BCE – end unknown
    Mono Craters (crater N of Punchbowl)
  12. 4050 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    4050 BCE – end unknown
    Inyo Craters (N of Deadman Creek)
  13. 6750 BCE (±1740 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    6750 BCE – end unknown
    Mono Craters (Punchbowl)

Nearby volcanoes

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.