Ubehebe Craters

Photo of this volcano
Country United States
Volcanic Region Basin and Range Volcanic Province
Landform | Volc Type Minor | Maar(s)
Last Known Eruption 150 BCE
Coordinates 37.02°N, 117.45°W
Elevation 752 m (2,467 ft)
Volcano Number 323160
Google Earth icon Google Earth Placemark with Features
Citation icon Cite Volcano Profile

Latest Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports available for Ubehebe Craters.

Latest Bulletin Report

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Ubehebe Craters.

Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Ubehebe Craters.

Bulletin Reports

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Ubehebe Craters.

General Information

Eruptive History

There is data available for 1 confirmed eruptive period.

0150 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)  

Episode 1 | Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)
0150 BCE (?) - Unknown Evidence from Correlation: Magnetism

List of 8 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Phreatic activity
   - - - -    - - - - Phreatomagmatic
   - - - -    - - - - Pyroclastic flow
   - - - -    - - - - Ash
   - - - -    - - - - Lapilli
   - - - -    - - - - Bombs
   - - - -    - - - - Scoria

Synonyms and Subfeatures

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.

Photo Gallery

Thumbnail Photo (see caption)Ubehebe craters are an isolated group of maar volcanoes erupted through nonvolcanic sediments of Death Valley National Park. The craters were formed by hydrovolcanic explosions along a fault. The contact between pre-eruption yellowish- and orange-colored sedimentary rocks and overlying black ash deposits from an early stage scoria cone can be seen at the upper part of the western wall of 800-m wide, 235-m deep Ubehebe crater, the youngest and largest crater.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1974 (Smithsonian Institution).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)Bedded pyroclastic-surge deposits from the eruptions forming Ubehebe craters can be seen in this gully south of Little Ubehebe crater. The eruption formed two clusters of explosion craters and tuff rings along a N-S line.

Photo by Lee Siebert (Smithsonian Institution).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)Erosional gullies furrow the surface of pyroclastic-surge deposits from the eruptions forming Ubehebe craters in Death Valley, California. The craters were erupted along a fault that forms the western boundary of the Tin Mountain range in the left background.

Photo by Lee Siebert (Smithsonian Institution).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)Darker-colored layers of basaltic ash drape the northern rim of Ubehebe Crater in the northern part of Death Valley National Park and spill down the crater walls. The 235-m-deep Ubehebe Crater is the largest of a series of more than a dozen overlapping maars formed by explosive eruptions through fanglomerate deposits, which form the light-colored areas below the ash layers. The Amargosa Range rises on the horizon across Death Valley to the east.

Photo by Paul Kimberly, 1997 (Smithsonian Institution).

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Ubehebe Craters in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites