Ubehebe Craters
Maar(s) in United States
Key Facts
Elevation
752 m (2,467 ft)
Type
Maar(s)
Location
37.020°, -117.450°
Region
Basin and Range Volcanic Province
Rock Type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Tectonic Setting
Rift zone
Location
Loading map...
Overview
The Ubehebe Craters (pronounced you-bee-HEE-bee) consist of an isolated group of overlapping maars formed during eruptions of alkali basalt along a fault cutting alluvial fan deposits on the flanks of Tin Mountain in Death Valley National Park. Ubehebe Crater is a 0. 8-km-wide, 235-m-deep maar surrounded by a tuff ring.
Little Hebe Crater, the second youngest vent located immediately south, is a small tuff cone with a 100-m-wide crater overlain by pyroclastic-surge deposits. At least a dozen craters are located within an area of 3 km2, and bedded pyroclastic-surge deposits cover an area of 15 km2. Early scoria cone formation was followed by hydrovolcanic explosions that formed two clusters of explosion craters and tuff rings.
Field work and revised dating (Calzia et al. , 2016; Fierstein et al. , 2016) based on paleomagnetic and 10Be evidence has shown that the craters were formed during a single short-lived phreatic, phreatomagmatic, and magmatic eruptive episode about 2,100 years ago.
Volcanic Hazards & Risk Assessment
Primary Hazards
Risk Level
Geological Composition & Structure
Rock Types
Tectonic Setting
Age & Formation
Eruption Statistics & Analysis
| Metric | Value | Global Ranking | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Recorded Eruptions | Unknown | Low | Moderately active volcano |
| Maximum VEI | VEI Unknown | Minor | Local impact potential |
| Recent Activity | 2176 years ago | Historical | Historically active |
Monitoring & Alert Status
Monitoring Networks
Current Status
Nearby Volcanoes in North America Volcanic Regions
Quick Info
- •Smithsonian ID: 323160
- •Evidence: Eruption Dated
- •Epoch: Holocene
About the Photo
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).
Authority Sources
Related Volcanoes
Basic Information
This page shows basic data from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program. For more detailed information, visit the official Smithsonian page.