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Red Hill-Quemado Volcanic Field

Find U.S. Volcano

The Red Hill-Quemado volcanic field in western New Mexico is across the border from the Springerville volcanic field in Arizona and contains more than 40 cinder cones and maars that were active from the late Miocene to early Holocene.

Facts Block

Location: New Mexico

Latitude: 34.25° N

Longitude: 108.83° E

Elevation: 2300 (m) 7546 (f)

Volcano type: Volcanic field

Composition: Basalt

Most recent eruption: 9450 CE

Threat Potential: Very low*

*based on the National Volcano Early Warning System

The Red Hill-Quemado volcanic field in western New Mexico is across the border from the Springerville volcanic field in Arizona and contains more than 40 cinder cones and maars that were active from the late Miocene to early Holocene. The volcanic field lies along the NE-trending Jemez lineament that extends from SE Colorado to east-central Arizona. Recent dating by Onken and Forman (2017) shows that three eruptive events took place at the Red Hill-Quemado volcanic field during the early Holocene, and that the renowned 2-km-wide Zuni Salt Lake maar with its late-stage nested cinder cones was formed about 11,000-11,800 calibrated years ago. From the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.

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

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