Are the volcanoes around SP Crater older or younger?

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, more than 600 volcanoes occur in the San Francisco Volcanic Field, and they have erupted at various times over the past 6 million years. Although ancient by human standards, these volcanoes are in fact geologically young.

How old is the SP Crater?

~ 55,000 years old
SP Crater is believed to be ~ 55,000 years old, Late Pleistocene. In spite of its age, it looks pristine and the surface lava flow textures are intact. It is surrounded by older, somewhat disheveled-looking cinder cones and subdued basaltic lava flows.

Is SP Crater active?

Sunset Crater Volcano, part of the San Francisco Volcanic Field, is an extinct cinder cone. The release adds that the San Francisco Volcanic Field, of which Sunset Crater Volcano is a part, is still considered active, so there could be another eruption east of Flagstaff some time in the next 1,000 to 5,000 years.

What is the slope of SP Crater?

around 45-50 degrees
GEOPATH > SP Crater by Jen Piatek The slope of the crater is consistent from its base to within a few meters of its rim at around 45-50 degrees; this slope is maintained partially by the cohesion of the cinders which comprise the lower 95% of the cone and partially by the vegetation which grows among the cinders.

What kind of structure is the SP crater?

SP Crater is a cinder cone, a conical structure made up of volcanic fragments, often glassy rocks containing bubbles of trapped gas. Cinder cones often form around or downwind from volcanic vents. When lava erupts from these structures, it frequently flows out of breaches on the side, and that appears to be the case at SP Crater.

How old is the SP crater in Arizona?

The flow extends some 4 miles to the north and is 100 feet thick in places. Lava from cinder cones often flows from breaches in their sides, as apparently happened here. Estimates vary on this lava’s age, but some scientists say it’s more than 70,000 years old.

How old is the lava in SP crater?

The hardened lava extends some 4 miles (6 kilometers) from the cinder cone, and is about 100 feet (30 meters) thick. Different dating techniques have placed the age of this lava between 4,000 and 71,000 years old.

Why did the cinder cone at SP crater not erupt?

Soon after, you’ll make your closest approach to the south face of the cinder cone. SP Crater erupted thousands of years ago but has resisted erosion — in part, geologists say, because of an agglutinate, or glued-together, rim that protects its structure.