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Mono Lake Volcanic Field

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Volcanic Region
  • Landform | Volc Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  • 38°N
  • 119.03°W

  • 2,121 m
    6,959 ft

  • 323110
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Mono Lake Volcanic Field.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Mono Lake Volcanic Field.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Mono Lake Volcanic Field.

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.

[ 1890 Aug 23 (?) - 1890 Aug 23 (?) ] Uncertain Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption
1890 Aug 23 (?) - 1890 Aug 23 (?) Evidence from Unknown

List of 3 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Phreatic activity Uncertain
   - - - -    - - - - Earthquakes (undefined) Uncertain
   - - - -    - - - - Observation Water fountain

1790 ± 75 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Paoha Island
1790 ± 75 years - Unknown Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Paoha Island

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava dome
   - - - -    - - - - Deformation (inflation)

1550 ± 300 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Negit Island
1550 ± 300 years - Unknown Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Negit Island

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

1150 ± 200 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Paoha Island
1150 ± 200 years - Unknown Evidence from Chem/Bio: Hydration Rind

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Paoha Island

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava dome

0350 ± 100 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption
0350 ± 100 years - Unknown Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 1 Events for Episode 1

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

There is data available for 1 deformation periods. Expand each entry for additional details.


Deformation during 1992 - 2000 [Subsidence; Observed by InSAR]

Start Date: 1992 Stop Date: 2000 Direction: Subsidence Method: InSAR
Magnitude: Unknown Spatial Extent: 1.00 km Latitude: 38.000 Longitude: -119.000

Remarks: Northern side of island, dacite domes

Figure (see Caption)

b) Zoomed view of Paoha Island: the InSAR mean deformation velocity map (with indicated the location of the pixel labeled as PI), superimposed to an orthophoto of the area, and the lithologic map of the island (data modified from Bailey (1989)) are shown on the left and on the right hand side of the figure, respectively.

From: Tizzani et al. 2007.


Reference List: Tizzani et al. 2007.

Full References:

Tizzani, P., Berardino, P., Casu, F., Euillades, P., Manzo, M., Ricciardi, G.P., Zeni, G. and Lanari, R.,, 2007. Surface deformation of Long Valley caldera and Mono Basin, California, investigated with the SBAS-InSAR approach. Remote Sensing of Environment, 108(3), pp.277-289.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Mono Lake Volcanic Field.

Photo Gallery

Negit Island, capped by the dark-colored cinder cone at the right, was the source of one of the most recent eruptions of the Mono Lake volcanic field. Rhyodacitic lava flows overlie a 1240 CE tephra unit. The light-colored tufa deposits near the western shore of Mono Lake in the foreground were created by deposition of calcium carbonate beneath the waters of the lake.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1973 (Smithsonian Institution).
Paoha Island in the center of Mono Lake at the left is seen from the flanks of Panum Crater on the south, at the northern end of the Mono Craters. The Mono Lake volcanic field consists of multiple volcanic vents on the northern shore of the lake and on Paoha and Negit Islands, which were last active a few hundred years ago.

Photo by Dan Dzurisin, 1982 (U.S. Geological Survey).
The Mono Lake volcanic field consists of rhyolitic lava domes and flows, phreatic explosion craters, and cinder cones on islands in Mono Lake and on its northern shore. This view shows explosion craters on Paoha Island, with the Mono Craters dome complex and the Sierra Nevada in the distance to the south. The ages of the most recent eruptions of the Mono Lake volcanic field range from about 2000 to about 200 years.

Photo by Dan Dzurisin, 1983 (U.S. Geological Survey).
Negit (right-center) and Paoha (far right) islands in Mono Lake are seen from Black Point, a basaltic cone on the NW shore of the lake. The most recent eruptive activity from the Mono Lakes volcanic field took place 100-230 years ago, when lake-bottom sediments forming much of Paoha Island were uplifted by intrusion of a rhyolitic cryptodome. Black Point is an initially sublacustral cone that formed about 13,300 years ago when the lake was higher. The White Mountains form the far right horizon.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1997 (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

There are no samples for Mono Lake Volcanic Field in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites