Logo link to homepage

Belknap

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Volcanic Region
  • Landform | Volc Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  • 44.285°N
  • 121.841°W

  • 2,095 m
    6,873 ft

  • 322060
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Belknap.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Belknap.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Belknap.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 4 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

0480 (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 2 (?)

Episode 1 | Eruption Belknap Crater
0480 (?) - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 4 Events for Episode 1 at Belknap Crater

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow
   - - - -    - - - - Ash
0480
(?)
   - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

0800 BCE ± 300 years Confirmed Eruption VEI: 2 (?)

Episode 1 | Eruption South Belknap and Twin Craters
0800 BCE ± 300 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 5 Events for Episode 1 at South Belknap and Twin Craters

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow
   - - - -    - - - - Cinder Cone
   - - - -    - - - - Scoria
0800 BCE ± 300 years    - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

1030 BCE ± 300 years Confirmed Eruption VEI: 0

Episode 1 | Eruption Little Belknap
1030 BCE ± 300 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Little Belknap

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow
1030 BCE ± 300 years    - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

5050 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Tamolitch lava flow
5050 BCE (?) - Unknown Evidence from Correlation: Magnetism

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Tamolitch lava flow

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow
Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Belknap.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Belknap.

Photo Gallery

The broad Belknap shield volcano to the left seen here from Sand Mountain volcano to its NW, with the Three Sisters volcanoes in the background, is one of the youngest volcanoes in the central Oregon Cascades. The latest dated lava flow traveled 15 km W to the McKenzie River from a vent on the NE side of Belknap about 1,500 years ago.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1981 (Smithsonian Institution).
Little Belknap shield volcano, seen here from the side of Belknap on the west with Black Crater in the background, formed about 2,900 years ago. Lava flows from Little Belknap, buttressed against the higher Belknap volcano on the west, spread primarily to the east.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1982 (Smithsonian Institution).
The McKenzie Pass area in the central Oregon Cascades contains one of the largest concentrations of recent volcanism in the United States. Belknap shield volcano, seen here from Black Crater to the SE, is capped by a smaller snow-covered cone. Lava flows from Belknap and the smaller Little Belknap shield volcano in front of it cover nearly 100 km2. Most of the largely unvegetated flows were erupted between about 2,900 and 1,500 years ago.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1995 (Smithsonian Institution).
Little Belknap (upper left) is an example of a small shield volcano in a continental margin setting. Little Belknap was constructed on the E flank of Belknap volcano and erupted lava flows over the McKenzie Pass area of the central Oregon Cascades about 2,900 years ago. Collapsed lava tubes that fed the flows diverge radially away from the summit. The summit of Mount Washington appears above the horizon to the right.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1995 (Smithsonian Institution).
Lava flows from Little Belknap shield volcano in the central Cascade Range of Oregon on the right skyline diverge around a kipuka, a forested island of pre-eruption terrain in the center of the photo. Kipuka is a Hawaiian term for older land surrounded by lava flows.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1995 (Smithsonian Institution).
The lava flow in the foreground, with snow-capped Mount Jefferson in the background, was emplaced about 2,600-2,900 years ago from Yapoah scoria cone on the north flank of North Sister. Lava flows in the middle of the photo originated from the Little Belknap shield volcano, part of one of the largest concentrations of recent volcanism in the continental United States: the McKenzie Pass area of the central Oregon Cascade Range.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1995 (Smithsonian Institution).
Lava flows in the foreground originated about 1,500 years ago from the South Belknap scoria cone below the skyline near the center of this photo. South Belknap scoria cone lies below Belknap Crater, a cone on the Belknap shield volcano. The lower peak on the right skyline is Little Belknap, a shield volcano constructed on the E flank of Belknap. Largely unvegetated lava flows cover nearly 100 km2 in the McKenzie Pass area.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1995 (Smithsonian Institution).
The South Belknap scoria cone on the left skyline was constructed on the SW flank of Belknap shield volcano (upper right) about 2,600 years ago during an eruption that produced lava flows towards the south. The foreground lava flows originated from Belknap.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1995 (Smithsonian Institution).
GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

The following 1 samples associated with this volcano can be found in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences collections, and may be availble for research (contact the Rock and Ore Collections Manager). Catalog number links will open a window with more information.

Catalog Number Sample Description Lava Source Collection Date
NMNH 112584-28 Basalt -- --
External Sites