Dotsero
Encyclopedia
Dotsero is a 700 metres (2,296.6 ft) wide by 400 metres (1,312.3 ft) deep maar
volcano
located in Dotsero, Colorado
near the junction of the Colorado River
and the Eagle River
. It is classified as a scoria
cone with evaporitic
rock, basalt
ic tephra, and oxidized sandstone
. Erupting approximately 4200 years ago, it is the youngest volcano in Colorado
. It is currently dormant.
volcano erupted in the year 2220 ± 300 years B.C. When Dotsero blew, it created small scoria
cones that were constructed along a NNE-SSW line on either side of the maar. The eruption date is based upon radiocarbon dating
of wood found underneath some of the scoria. It is one of the youngest eruptions in the continental U.S. and it produced an explosion crater, a lahar, and a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long lava flow.
Volcanoes that have erupted in the past 10,000 years are more likely to become active again.
Interstate 70 cuts across the lava flow.
Maar
A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater that is caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption, an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma. A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow crater lake. The name comes from the local Moselle...
volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
located in Dotsero, Colorado
Dotsero, Colorado
- Volcano :Dotsero is built at the base of Colorado's most recently active volcano, the Dotsero Crater, which, according to the United States Geological Survey, erupted 4,140 years ago....
near the junction of the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
and the Eagle River
Eagle River
-Streams:In the United States:*Eagle River , any one of three rivers*Eagle River , a tributary of the Colorado River*Eagle River , a river flowing into Lake Superior*Eagle River , a tributary of the Wisconsin River...
. It is classified as a scoria
Scoria
Scoria is a volcanic rock containing many holes or vesicles. It is most generally dark in color , and basaltic or andesitic in composition. Scoria is relatively low in mass as a result of its numerous macroscopic ellipsoidal vesicles, but in contrast to pumice, all scoria has a specific gravity...
cone with evaporitic
Evaporite
Evaporite is a name for a water-soluble mineral sediment that result from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporate deposits, marine which can also be described as ocean deposits, and non-marine which are found in standing bodies of...
rock, 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 tephra, and oxidized sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
. Erupting approximately 4200 years ago, it is the youngest volcano in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. It is currently dormant.
Eruption information
This HoloceneHolocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
volcano erupted in the year 2220 ± 300 years B.C. When Dotsero blew, it created small scoria
Scoria
Scoria is a volcanic rock containing many holes or vesicles. It is most generally dark in color , and basaltic or andesitic in composition. Scoria is relatively low in mass as a result of its numerous macroscopic ellipsoidal vesicles, but in contrast to pumice, all scoria has a specific gravity...
cones that were constructed along a NNE-SSW line on either side of the maar. The eruption date is based upon radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
of wood found underneath some of the scoria. It is one of the youngest eruptions in the continental U.S. and it produced an explosion crater, a lahar, and a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long lava flow.
Volcanoes that have erupted in the past 10,000 years are more likely to become active again.
Interstate 70 cuts across the lava flow.