Cima Dome & Volcanic Field National Natural Landmark
Encyclopedia
The Cima Dome & Volcanic Field National Natural Landmark, or Cinder Cones National Natural Landmark, includes the Cima Dome, Cima Volcanic Field, and Cima Volcanic Range, and is in the Mojave Desert
within San Bernardino County, California
, United States
.
The dome and volcanic field
with cinder cone
s are located within the National Park Service
Mojave National Preserve
south of Interstate 15
and Baker
, off Kelbaker Road towards Cima
, and north of the Kelso Visitors Center
and Interstate 40
.
, the erosional remnant of granite
plutons that formed deep under the Earth's surface 180 - 80 million years ago when the Farallon Plate
was being subducted
beneath the North American Plate
.
The Dome rises 1500 feet (457.2 m) above the volcanic plain, 2132 to 4950 ft (649.8 to 1,508.8 m) high, and covers 70 mi2. Cima Dome is an extremely symmetric dome of this granitic formation type, and one of the more visible ones by being in open desert plains.
vents, and extensive basalt
ic lava flows in a volcanic field
covering more than 58 sq mi (150.2 km²) of the Mojave Desert
. It ranges from 2132 to 4950 ft (649.8 to 1,508.8 m) in elevation. These cinder cones range in size from 82 to 508 ft (25 to 154.8 m) in height above the volcanic plain and from 656 to 3018 ft (199.9 to 919.9 m) in base diameters. Over 30 of these cinder cones and associated lava flows, are Pleistocene
in age and are located in the southern portion of the volcanic field, with the rest from the Quaternary
age.
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
within San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The dome and volcanic field
Volcanic field
A volcanic field is an area of the Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity. They usually contain 10 to 100 volcanoes, such as cinder cones and are usually in clusters. Lava flows may also occur...
with cinder cone
Cinder cone
According to the , Cinder Cone is the proper name of 1 cinder cone in Canada and 7 cinder cones in the United States:In Canada: Cinder Cone In the United States:...
s are located within the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
Mojave National Preserve
Mojave National Preserve
Mojave National Preserve is located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31, 1994 with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act by the US Congress...
south of Interstate 15
Interstate 15 in California
In the U.S. state of California, Interstate 15 is a major north–south route through the San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego Counties, and it has a length of in the state. It is a major thoroughfare for traffic between Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as points beyond...
and Baker
Baker, California
Baker is a census-designated place located in San Bernardino County, California, USA. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 735.Baker was founded as a station on the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad in 1908,...
, off Kelbaker Road towards Cima
Cima, California
Cima is a small unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, in the United States. Few people live in the area...
, and north of the Kelso Visitors Center
Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees Hotel
The Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees Hotel or Kelso Depot, now also the Mojave National Preserve Visitors Center, is located in the Mojave Desert within the National Park Service Mojave National Preserve, on Kelbaker Road in Kelso, California, between Baker and Interstate 15 to the north and...
and Interstate 40
Interstate 40 in California
In the U.S. state of California, Interstate 40 has its western terminus in Barstow. Known as the Needles Freeway, a major east–west route of the Interstate Highway System, it heads east from Barstow across the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County past the Clipper Mountains to Needles,...
.
Cima Dome
Cima Dome is a broad sloping upland domeDome (geology)
In structural geology, a dome is a deformational feature consisting of symmetrically-dipping anticlines; their general outline on a geologic map is circular or oval...
, the erosional remnant of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
plutons that formed deep under the Earth's surface 180 - 80 million years ago when the Farallon Plate
Farallon Plate
The Farallon Plate was an ancient oceanic plate, which began subducting under the west coast of the North American Plate— then located in modern Utah— as Pangaea broke apart during the Jurassic Period...
was being subducted
Subduction
In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge. These 3D regions of mantle downwellings are known as "Subduction Zones"...
beneath the North American Plate
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust...
.
The Dome rises 1500 feet (457.2 m) above the volcanic plain, 2132 to 4950 ft (649.8 to 1,508.8 m) high, and covers 70 mi2. Cima Dome is an extremely symmetric dome of this granitic formation type, and one of the more visible ones by being in open desert plains.
Cima Volcanic Field and Range
The Cima Volcanic Field and Cima Volcanic Range includes 52 volcanic cinder coneCinder cone
According to the , Cinder Cone is the proper name of 1 cinder cone in Canada and 7 cinder cones in the United States:In Canada: Cinder Cone In the United States:...
vents, and extensive basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic lava flows in a volcanic field
Volcanic field
A volcanic field is an area of the Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity. They usually contain 10 to 100 volcanoes, such as cinder cones and are usually in clusters. Lava flows may also occur...
covering more than 58 sq mi (150.2 km²) of the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
. It ranges from 2132 to 4950 ft (649.8 to 1,508.8 m) in elevation. These cinder cones range in size from 82 to 508 ft (25 to 154.8 m) in height above the volcanic plain and from 656 to 3018 ft (199.9 to 919.9 m) in base diameters. Over 30 of these cinder cones and associated lava flows, are Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
in age and are located in the southern portion of the volcanic field, with the rest from the Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
age.
See also
- Lavic Lake volcanic fieldLavic Lake volcanic fieldThe Lavic Lake volcanic field is a volcanic field with extinct cinder cones in the Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, California, United States...
- Pisgah CraterPisgah CraterPisgah Crater, or Pisgah Volcano, is a young volcanic cinder cone rising above a lava plain in the Mojave Desert, between Barstow and Needles, California in San Bernardino County, California. The volcanic peak is around south of historic U.S...
- Mojave volcanismVolcanismVolcanism is the phenomenon connected with volcanoes and volcanic activity. It includes all phenomena resulting from and causing magma within the crust or mantle of a planet to rise through the crust and form volcanic rocks on the surface....
information
- Pisgah Crater
- Amboy CraterAmboy CraterAmboy Crater and Lava Field is an extinct North American cinder cone type of volcano that rises above a lava field in southern California. They are located in the Mojave Desert equidistant and about between Barstow to the west and Needles to the east, and southwest of historic U.S. Route 66, in...
- Mojave National PreserveMojave National PreserveMojave National Preserve is located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31, 1994 with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act by the US Congress...
- Kelso DunesKelso DunesKelso Dunes, also known as the Kelso Dune Field, is the largest field of eolian sand deposits in the Mojave Desert. The region is protected by the Mojave National Preserve and is located near the town of Baker, San Bernardino County, California and the Preserve Visitor Center...
- Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees HotelKelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees HotelThe Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees Hotel or Kelso Depot, now also the Mojave National Preserve Visitors Center, is located in the Mojave Desert within the National Park Service Mojave National Preserve, on Kelbaker Road in Kelso, California, between Baker and Interstate 15 to the north and...
- Kelso Visitors Center - Providence Mountains State Recreation AreaProvidence Mountains State Recreation AreaThe Providence Mountains State Recreation Area is located in the Providence Mountains, within the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County, California...
- Mitchell CavernsMitchell CavernsThe Mitchell's Caverns, within the Mitchell Caverns Natural Preserve, are a trio of limestone caves, located on the east side of the Providence Mountains at an elevation of 4300 ft , within the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area...
- Kelso Dunes
- Coso Volcanic FieldCoso Volcanic FieldThe Coso Volcanic Field is located in Inyo County, California, at the western edge of the Basin and Range geologic province and northern region of the Mojave Desert. The Fossil Falls are part of the Coso Field, created by the prehistoric Owens River. They are currently within the Naval Air Weapons...
