Global Volcanism Program

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Isla Tortuga.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Isla Tortuga.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Isla Tortuga.

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

341011

Unknown - Evidence Credible

224 m / 735 ft

27.438°N
111.881°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Shield

Volcano Types
Shield
Caldera
Pyroclastic cone(s)
Tuff ring(s)

Rock Types

Major
Basalt / Picro-Basalt

Minor
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite

Tectonic Setting

Rift zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

Within 5 km
Within 10 km
Within 30 km
Within 100 km

0
0
401
26,978

Geological Summary

A youthful shield volcano forms Isla Tortuga, which lies in the Gulf of California, 40 km off the Baja coast. There is a circular, 1-km-wide caldera, west of the center of the oval 4-km-long island. Circumferential faults cut the rim of the more than 100-m-deep caldera, which is floored by a solidified lava lake and contains youthful-looking spatter cones. The volcano was constructed during two north-migrating periods of activity that began with submarine eruptions and included formation of a circular tuff-ring complex enclosing the caldera. The sides of a small volcanic horst in the center of the caldera display lava flows overlying a 2-m-thick halite bed, formed when sea water filled the caldera, creating an evaporite basin. Recent lava flows cover most of the flanks, and fumarolic activity has continued into historical time. A submarine cone with a 2-km-wide summit caldera lies about 5 km ESE of the island on the flanks of the edifice.

This volcano is located within the Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California, a UNESCO World Heritage property.

References

The following references have all been used during the compilation of data for this volcano, it is not a comprehensive bibliography.

Batiza R, 1978. Geology, petrology, and geochemistry of Isla Tortuga, a recently formed tholeiitic island in the Gulf of California. Geol Soc Amer Bull, 89: 1309-1324.

Batiza R, Futa K, Hedge C E, 1979. Trace element and strontium isotope characteristics of volcanic rocks from Isla Tortuga: a young seamount in the Gulf of California. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 43: 269-278.

Beal C H, 1948. Reconnaissance of the geology and oil possibilities of Baja California, Mexico. Geol Soc Amer Mem, 31: 1-138.

Eruptive History

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Isla Tortuga. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 12,000 years ago, information might be found on the Isla Tortuga page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

The Global Volcanism Program has no synonyms or subfeatures listed for Isla Tortuga.

Photo Gallery

Isla Tortuga is 4-km-wide volcanic island located in the Gulf of California, 40 km off the coast of Baja California. The summit contains a 1-km-wide caldera and recent lava flows cover much of the flanks. This 1989 view is from the west.

Photo by Marjorie Summers, 1989 (Smithsonian Institution).

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

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

External Sites

Copernicus Browser

The Copernicus Browser replaced the Sentinel Hub Playground browser in 2023, to provide access to Earth observation archives from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions.

MIROVA

Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity.

MODVOLC Thermal Alerts

Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales.

WOVOdat
   Single Volcano View
   Temporal Evolution of Unrest
   Side by Side Volcanoes

WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

GVMID Data on Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure The Global Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure Database GVMID, is aimed at documenting and improving capabilities of volcano monitoring from the ground and space. GVMID should provide a snapshot and baseline view of the techniques and instrumentation that are in place at various volcanoes, which can be use by volcano observatories as reference to setup new monitoring system or improving networks at a specific volcano. These data will allow identification of what monitoring gaps exist, which can be then targeted by remote sensing infrastructure and future instrument deployments.

Volcanic Hazard Maps

The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk has a Volcanic Hazard Maps database designed to serve as a resource for hazard mappers (or other interested parties) to explore how common issues in hazard map development have been addressed at different volcanoes, in different countries, for different hazards, and for different intended audiences. In addition to the comprehensive, searchable Volcanic Hazard Maps Database, this website contains information about diversity of volcanic hazard maps, illustrated using examples from the database. This site is for educational purposes related to volcanic hazard maps. Hazard maps found on this website should not be used for emergency purposes. For the most recent, official hazard map for a particular volcano, please seek out the proper institutional authorities on the matter.

IRIS seismic stations/networks

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Isla Tortuga. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice.

UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations

Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Isla Tortuga. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player.

DECADE Data

The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO₂ to the atmosphere, but installing CO₂ monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere.

Large Eruptions of Isla Tortuga

Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

EarthChem

EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS).