The Capulin Volcano

By analyzing the structure (i.e. faults, folds, tectonic plates), we have one manner in which to answer this question. Internal forces of the Earth reach and break through the surface to form volcanoes, mountains, plateaus, and many other topographical features which may later cause these layers to tip, fold, warp, or fracture. Faults play a major role in the formation of landscapes. So, by first looking at faults, hopefully we can come closer to truly understanding how Canyonlands National Park has come to be. On plateaus such as the Colorado Plateau, faults and weak rock tend to be synonymous in their locations. Faults, which are cracks or fractures in Earth's crust, form when internal heat forces and pressure from underground forces shifts the plates, thus creating stress within the plate. Faults commonly occur in elevated regions such as the Rocky Mountain region (which includes the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands National Park). As previously mentioned, faults tend to be surrounded by weak rock. Therefore, a river or other flowing water easily cuts through this

Volcanoes can be found throughout the entire world and are formed when there is a rupture in the mantle of the Earth's crust. This effect allows the output of volcanic lava, ash, and various types of gases. These tectonic plate breaks are normal, the planet Earth is divided into 17 tectonic plates and consistently move against each other forming shifts from low to high intensity. It can cause displacement of earth or water.

Volcanoes are one of the most destructive, yet, most beautiful things on Earth. They can make a famous city choke in its own ashes in one day, like Pompeii. Or they can turn a once damaging mountain into a graceful and peaceful home for new life, like Mount St. Helen’s. All volcanoes are unique, and no two are the same. Some erupt differently than others, some look different than others, and all are located in different spots all over the world. I learned this while completing the project and the five volcanoes I researched are examples of my discoveries. The five volcanoes I researched were Mount Hood, Mount Mageik, Long Island, Mount Muria, and Las Pilas.

The west coast of North America has been tectonically and volcanically active for billions of years. The Sierra Nevada Mountains in eastern California were born of volcanoes, and magma has been erupting in the Long Valley to the east of the mountains for over three million years (Bailey, et. al., 1989). However, the climactic eruption of the region occurred relatively recently in the region's geologic history. About 760,000 years ago, a huge explosion of magma warped the Eastern Sierra into the landscape that exists today. The eruption depleted a massive magma chamber below the earth's surface so that the ceiling of the chamber imploded, forming what is now known as

First, we must examine the sedimentary formations; when they were formed, how they were formed, and what materials they consist of. About ninety-three to one hundred million years ago, the Western Interior Seaway rolled through the North American continent, eventually reaching the geographical area of today’s Mesa Verde National Park (National Park Service 2005). This sea deposited a thick, hard sandstone base that is called Dakota Sandstone, although this layer is not exposed in the park

Our hike will start here, at the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We will go all the way to the bottom of the canyon. But first, a description of this area. The Grand Canyon is one on the most visited and studies sites for geologists on Earth. There are almost forty major sedimentary rock layers exposed in the Grand Canyon. Some of these rocks layers are two hundred million years old or two billion years old. Most of the sediment that makes up the rocks was deposited by oceans and seas, which now, are long gone. We know this because there are many fossils and and other records on large bodies of water in the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is found in the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau is lifted almost two miles, or four and a fifth kilometers. It started to lift up seventy-five million years ago. This started a mountain-building period of time called the Laramide orogeny. During this period, the Rocky Mountains were created. The main types of rocks found in the Grand Canyon are limestone, siltstone, shale, and sandstone. Many of the layers are made up of limestone. Some examples of these are the Kaibab Limestone, the Redwall Limestone the Temple Butte Limestone, and the Muav

Sedimentary rocks interpret dinosaur habitats through encased environmental structures of the past. Through sedimentary rocks, paleoecologists’ can examine the arranged formation of sedimentary structures to specify what type of environment the dinosaurs’ lived in. An example of a specific sedimentary rock structure can be seen through formed weathering and ripple marks by how wind and sand formed distinct patterns in the past layered sediment. These arrangements provide interpretations on the structure of the sediment and the habitat of encased fossils, through modern day comparisons

A period of volcanism resulted in igneous intrusions within the Raton Basin-Sierra Grande Uplift Province that was sourced from the upper mantle about 26. 6 billion years ago and is associated with parallel dikes and sills (Higley, 2007). Igneous rocks are common within the Raton Basin and include Tertiary dikes and sills that range in age from 6.7 to 29 5 million years ago (Flores and Bader, 1999). One of the main differences between dikes and sills is that dikes are longer lived magma conduits and sills are features that form when magma is in neutral buoyancy with the surrounding rock (Rooper et al., 2006). These volcanic events are associated with hydrothermal alteration of coal within the basin (Higley, 2007).

They are alkalic basalts and very similar to those found from the Raton phase, both chemically and petrographically. ((http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/80/7/1343.full.pdf) The Capulin Phase includes several different stages, all which occurred during the Pleistocene. All of the Capulin Phase flows are composed of Capulin basalt, which is a fluid lava containing 50% - 55% silica. They have a relatively high percentage of silica for a basalt, because of the presence of quartz grains. These grains came from sedimentary rocks underlying the volcano, e.g. the Dakota Sandstone. The earliest stage of this phase, Mud Hill, formed during a phreatomagmatic eruption, which means that it was driven by the interaction of magma and water, followed by basalt flows. That was approximately 1.7 million 30,000 years ago. The First Series lava flows happened simultaneously as the cinder cone was forming. They flowed east, originating from fissures or series of small vents. The eruption which formed the cone itself, consisted of fissures or several small vents which joined together into one main vent, and the pyroclastic material erupting built up around the vent forming a cone. This eruption lasted for a period of weeks to years, about 55,000 2,000 years ago. The next stage of the Capulin Phase was the Boca eruption. It occurred after the eruption of the main cinder cone had ended, and because the activity shifted from the

One piece of this history is the subsurface Paleozoic rocks. Paleozoic rocks are for the most part hidden in the Park despite being in the Colorado Plateau, which is likely due to both erosion, and it being buried in other various rocks. Next is the deposition of the Moenkopi Formation during the early Triassic time period. When North America was still apart of Pangea, the area that was the Colorado Plateau was located within close range of the Equator. 300-600 feet of sand and mud were accumulated during this time, with marine life being included which tells Geologists that the sea sometimes was in the area. The climate at the time was warm, with varying times of humid and dry spells. There is very few beds of the Moenkopi Formation left in the area once again due to erosion. Third is the deposition of the Shinarump Member of the Chinle Formation. This basal conglomerate was deposited on top of the Moenkopi Formation. It is made up of gravel and sand, which indicates that there was water depositing it. The Shinarump Member also averages between 35-50 feet thick. Next in the geological history is the deposition of Chinle beds later in the Triassic time period. When the sea regressed to the west of the area, a large plain was left behind. As the climate changed, so did the environment. Soon grasslands and marshes began to form in the area. During this time hundreds of feet of shaly material accumulated which formed both the Lower Petrified Forest Member and the Upper Petrified Forest Member. In some parts, these two members are separated by the Sonsela Sandstone Member, composed of the most petrified wood compared to all other rock units featured in the Park. The Owl Rock Member is at the top of the Chinle Formation, and completes it. Near the end of the Triassic time period, tectonic activity was occurring heavily in the Arizona basin. In the western sea at this time a chain of volcanoes erupted,

This photo is of the Mount Pavlof, which is a volcano. This Mountain is located in the alaska peninsula wildlife refuge & the last time activity was recorded was on the date August 4, 2016. This Mountain is located about 625 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.Mount Pavlof is a largely snow covered, cone shaped mountain with a high ridge extending to the southwest towards Little Pavlof. The mountain is about 7 km in diameter and has active vents on the north and east sides close to the summit. It is situated high on the northeastern flank of Emmons Lake caldera along a northeast-trending alignment of vents that includes Little Pavlof, Pavlof Sister, and several intra caldera cones.It’s one of the most active in the United States with eruptions

Seagulls flying in the sky on top of the golden sandy beach. Palm trees stand tall and strong. This is Hawaii, home to the great Mauna Loa. Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on earth. It is also one of the five volcanoes that created the beautiful island known as Hawaii. This shield volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in the world! The name Mauna Loa means “Long Mountain” in Hawaiian. Whenever this giant volcano erupts, it's usually extremely hazardous, threatening its surroundings. Mauna Loa may be very large and dangerous, but it is quite fascinating!

Cracka...BOOM! The volcano that has not erupted for thousands of years finally did, with little to no warning to the people in Pompeii, a city at the foot of the volcano, giving little time to escape! This eruption ended all life in Pompeii, but its history lives on. When archaeologists start to uncover Pompeii, they find out how close their thousands of years ago life is to ours today. Things like their tools and how to use them, and how they used to live life.

The word volcano comes from the little island of vulcano in the Mediterranean Sea, these fire fountains can reach hundreds of feet into the sky (Lindop). Early Romans believed this mountain belonged to vulcan, the blacksmith of the gods. Within the last twenty years, a volcanologists have been working hard to learn how to predict eruptions and keep people safe.

On the 15th June of 1991, the second largest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century took place on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, 90 km northwest of the capital city Manila. It was also, by far, the largest eruption to affect a densely populated area. Mount Pinatubo, a stratovolcano, is part of a chain of volcanoes along the Luzon arc on the west coast (refer map). The arc of volcanoes is due to the subduction of the Manila trench to the west. The mountain has a very huge eruptive history. It was known to be thermally active and had been explored as possible geothermal energy resource by the Philippine National Oil Company. Mount Pinatubo is among the highest peaks in west-central Luzon. Its