Navajo volcanic field

Navajo volcanic field
Map of the Navajo volcanic field
Geography
Map
LocationFour Corners, United States
Geology
Rock age26.2–24.7 Ma
Mountain typeVolcanic field

The Navajo volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field located in the Four Corners region of the United States, in the central part of the Colorado Plateau. The volcanic field consists of over 80 volcanoes and associated intrusions of unusual potassium-rich compositions, with an age range of 26.2 to 24.7 million years (Ma).[1]

In Navajo Nation tradition, the vents are known as tsézhiin ‘íí ‘áhí , "black rocks protruding up", and they play an important role in Navajo creation stories. Geologists have studied the Navajo volcanic field for clues to the geologic history of the Colorado Plateau and the timing and cause of its uplift.

  1. ^ Bélanger, Caroline; Ross, Pierre-Simon (July 2018). "Origin of nonbedded pyroclastic rocks in the Cathedral Cliff diatreme, Navajo volcanic field, New Mexico" (PDF). Bulletin of Volcanology. 80 (7): 61. Bibcode:2018BVol...80...61B. doi:10.1007/s00445-018-1234-0. S2CID 133806568.