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Country: | México | |
| Subregion Name: | México | ||
| Volcano Number: | 1401-001 | ||
| Volcano Type: | Cinder cones | ||
| Volcano Status: | Holocene | ||
| Last Known Eruption: | Unknown | ||
| Summit Elevation: | 1200+ m | 3,937 feet | |
| Latitude: | 31.772°N * | 31°46'21"N | |
| Longitude: | 113.498°W | 113°29'54"W | |
| Pinacate is a large, roughly 55 x 60 km volcanic field in the Sonoran desert of NW México. It contains numerous youthful maars, tuff rings, and cinder cones of late-Pleistocene to Holocene age. The 2000 sq km volcanic field is prominent in satellite images of this arid, sparsely populated region between the Arizona border and the head of the Gulf of California. An older volcanic episode constructed the 1200-m-high Santa Clara basaltic-to-trachytic shield volcano. This was followed by the eruption of more than 500 basaltic cinder cones and lava flows that blanket the slopes of Santa Clara and the surrounding desert. Among the principal features of the Pinacate volcanic field are Elegante crater, a 1.6-km-wide maar, and Cerro Colorado, a 110-m-high, 1.1-km-wide tuff ring. Papago (Tohono O'odham) Indian legends tell of eruptions, however historical accounts of ash-and-steam eruptions in the 20th century are questionable. | |||
