Young volcanism in Millard County

Ice Springs volcanic field

  • Shelley Judge The College of Wooster, Department of Earth Sciences
  • Meagen Pollock The College of Wooster, Department of Earth Sciences
  • Michael Williams The College of Wooster, Department of Earth Sciences
  • Krysden Schantz Cape Fear Public Utility Authority
  • Kelli Baxstrom USGS Landslide Hazards
  • Kyle Burden North Carolina Department of Transportation
  • Cam Matesich Bethlehem-Center High School
  • Emily Randall The College of Wooster, Department of Earth Sciences
  • Samuel Patzkowsky Franklin and Marshall College, Department of Earth and Environment
  • Whitney Sims The College of Wooster, Department of Earth Sciences
  • William Cary The College of Wooster, Department of Earth Sciences
  • Matt Peppers Chesapeake Energy
  • Addison Thompson Pomona College, Department of Geology
  • Thomas Wilch Albion College, Department of Geology
Keywords: ice spring, volcano, utah, Millard, ISVF, Basalt

Abstract

Geoscientists, naturalists, and rock-hound enthusiasts have explored Ice Springs volcanic field (ISVF) for nearly 130 years because it is one of the youngest, extension-related volcanic centers in Utah and the Southwest U.S. Ice Springs received its name due to the presence of ice within its expansive a’a lava flows (Davis, 2014), which have an interesting age discrepancy. Previous work on Ice Springs dated the ISVF as 660 years old (Valastro and others, 1972), but we now introduce an age date of 9,800 to 11,100 years old. Although the eruptive and effusive deposits (more explosive vs passive, respectively) capture our imagination today, it is possible that they were natural hazards for the early Paleo-Indians of the region.

Aerial photo of Pocket, Crescent, Miter and Terrace craters. View to the east (from Google Earth).
Published
2019-12-31
How to Cite
Judge , S., Pollock , M., Williams , M., Schantz , K., Baxstrom , K., Burden , K., Matesich , C., Randall , E., Patzkowsky , S., Sims , W., Cary , W., Peppers , M., Thompson , A., and Wilch , T., 2019, Young volcanism in Millard County: Ice Springs volcanic field: Geosites, v. 48, no. 1, p. 1-13., doi: 10.31711/ugap.v1i1.88.
Section
Articles