Newberry Volcano in the Cascade Mountains
Newberry Volcano in the Cascade Mountains. Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features the Newberry Volcano in the eastern Cascade Mountains of Oregon.
This was one of several areas used by Apollo astronauts for field training in the 1960s. The training prepared the astronauts to identify igneous rocks types when they were collecting samples from the lunar surface.
Newberry is an active and potentially dangerous volcano in the Pacific Northwest, and its last eruption occurred just 1,300 years ago. The caldera contains two crater lakes, Paulina and East Lake. This was initially one large lake until violent activity formed a ridge that split it into two.
NASA reports that over the past 400,000 years, volcanic activity has produced a large range of ash and rock deposits, pyroclastic flows, lava flows, and small vents within and surrounding Newberry’s large caldera.
An astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS) shot this photograph of the volcano while passing over Oregon.Newberry Volcano is a large active shield volcano located about 20 miles (32 km) south of Bend, Oregon, United States, 35 miles (56 km) east of the major crest of the Cascade Range, within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Its highest point is Paulina Peak. The largest volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, Newberry has an area of 1,200 square miles (3,100 km2) when its lava flows are taken into account. From north to south, the volcano has a length of 75 miles (121 km), with a width of 27 miles (43 km) and a total volume of approximately 120 cubic miles (500 km3). It was named for the geologist and surgeon John Strong Newberry, who explored central Oregon for the Pacific Railroad Surveys in 1855. The surrounding area has been inhabited by Native American populations for more than 10,000 years.
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer
