I really do enjoy talking about specifics of the San Francisco volcanic field in Arizona. It is very unusual for a volcanic field to contain basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite, dacite, trachyte, and rhyolite. It is also unusual for a single field to contain a stratovolcano, lava domes, lava dome complexes, maars, tuff rings, fissure vents, and cinder cones. Everything about this field is unusual, and in part this is due to the underlying low intensity hotspot which feeds its volcanism.
Thank you for covering this. As a Flagstaff resident, not to many people know about San Francisco peaks and it's volcanic origins. The volcanic history of Arizona is very fascinating.
As an Arizona resident I also am fascinated by the area as a whole. Very few places on the planet exist where every type of lava (basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite, dacite, rhyolite, trachyte, etc) erupted from the same field. I am just glad I can share my fascination with a unique feature in Arizona.
@@GeologyHub I grew up in AZ & lived there for 30+ years & I didn't know ANY of this, other than the fact that Humphrey's Peak is the tallest mountain in the state now. Great stuff to know. P.S. I live just outside of Portland, OR now. Got a close up view of Mt. Hood where my apt is. Among the reasons why I left was the dominance of right-wing nut-burgers in the state legislature. I don't know where in AZ you live (& you don't have to tell me), but I hope you live in a welcoming neighborhood where intelligence is valued over fear.
@@GeologyHub I lived in AZ for 4 years and visited Flagstaff a few times but had no idea! I also remember flying over and wondering how the landscape formed in such weird shapes, I always thought it had something to do with being under the ocean at one point. Fascinating channel, thank you!
@@JoeVideoed yet Portland is a complete shitshow thanks to liberal politicians are fine with crime and homelessness and drugs running rampant, spent last 4 summers in Portland and only thing nice is summer weather, and mt hood. Not sure how you can enioy the BS going on there now
@@marked4death076 If you enjoy GeologyHub's videos you might check out Central Washington University professor Nick Zetner's video series on geology of the PNW. As a member of the USAF, I was based in AZ and roamed the state from the Four Corners to Yuma with a rock hammer. I'm based in Portland now and can keep Portland "Wierd". The refreshing thing about science is it doesn't fall easy prey to insanity or treason and promotes human advancements. I'll go back home south of Tucson to live in 135mya rhyolite and wear an Arizona Ranger badge and work with the Planetary Science Institute and enjoy voting for good reason.
Great video! I've lived in AZ my whole life and the San Fransisco Peaks have always been a part. Whether it was sledding as a kid, hiking Humphrey's with my Dad, exploring the lava tubes or scrambling up SP Crater (formerly known as Shit Pot Crater), there is a lot to be had in northern Arizona. We are truly blessed to have so much unique and fascinating geology that is exposed for us to see. Keep up the awesome videos!
In keeping with the Arizona way of life, the Bottomless Pit behind the baseball fields north of E Old Walnut Canyon Road at Country Club in East Flagstaff was only fenced off about a decade ago. On Google Earth the opening itself is barely visible as deep shadow at the south end of the drainage area. I haven't walked down the the fence yet.
I live in AZ and I’ve camped many times on the foot of this mountain. I often looked at it and wondered if it had lost a few hundred feet in a volcanic eruption. Thx for answering that question. Its a very beautiful landmark in AZ. It would be even more spectacular if it was still its original height. There’s many geological sights close to this region. Sedona, Meteor Crater, and the Grand Canyon.
I've seen pictures and read articles on Meteor Crater ever since I was a kid and I finally got to visit it a few years ago. I was very impressed with how huge it is. I wonder if they built I-40 that close to it on purpose or if it was just a happy accident.
@@thomasmilitello4589 prob just an accident cause it needed to go thru Flagstaff it’s part of the original Route 66. I was just there last year and bought a tennis ball sized Meteorite from the original one that caused the crater. The owners of the property regularly go out with metal detectors and find them.
Many years ago I climbed San Fransisco mountain when I was travelling around the USA. It's a very easy climb, just have to deal with the altitude. I summited just after dawn, and the view over the Painted Desert was just astonishing.
Mt. Taylor located in New Mexico, near where I live has a similar horse shoe shaped blow out to the east. I always assumed it was taller before the eruption, but not sure by how much.
I was just thinking that! That would be a super interesting topic. Between that and the Malpaias, Or the Valles Caldera, 3 sisters in Abq etc…. NM has a lot of volcanic history.
Speaking of Mount Taylor, I am working on covering that now extinct volcano right now (pure coincidence). Although for Mt. Taylor the collapse appears most likely to have occurred due to several repeated collapses of an unstable edifice completely unrelated with an eruption.
@@projectjster Yeah there's a lot of volcanos in this area. To the east of me is Mt Taylor (21 miles away), to the north (about 5 miles) is a small volcano with an old lava flow that extends for about 8 miles along the rail road tracks. It has a lot of growth on it and you can tell it's an older flow. To the south is the Bandera/Zuni flow which is huge, these are younger flows. In the Zuni Mountains, above where I live are two cinder cone volcanos. One of which created a lava flow through a narrow canyon as it flowed downhill. Near this flow I've found obsidian chips left by natives knapping arrow heads long ago. I've been looking for the source of this obsidian but haven't located it yet.
@@GeologyHub A Question: As I've mentioned, I'm from the area and I've always wondered how the mesa to the west of Mount Taylor formed. It's near Grants NM, it resembles a hammer when viewed from Google Earth. How do these flat topped, lava covered mesa's form?
Flagstaff resident here. I see this mountain every day. Sunset Crater which is just to the east of San Francisco Peaks is most interesting and also worth exploring. It's part of that same chain, and erupted approximately 900 years ago. Which is fairly recent considering geological time.
My 15 yrs of driving truck, going thru Flagstaff, I never knew that Humphrey’s Peak was a part of something bigger. As ironic as it is, I’m driving thru Flagstaff now.
I went to school at Norther Arizona University and took a Geology course. This was Never mentioned in my studies! I would have loved to have know this when I lived there.
I have to say I really like your videos. They are schort, enjoyably structured, well brought over, sensfully compressed information. Very imforative 👍, thank you.
I knew about Humphreys peak, but was excited to learn it is actually part of the complex of surrounding peaks because of the monolithic earlier structure of San Francisco mountain, and the subsequent collapse; Now that you point it out via the aerial map, it becomes intuitively apparent. We really like these educational explanations of various features.
Features like the San Francisco lava field are why I always get a window seat when flying across country. Ive gotten to the point where I can recognize what state im over by looking at the geological features on the ground and most of the time im correct or close.... thanks for your channel
This is great!! I lived in Arizona up until last year, and my favorite places to camp were Bill Williams, and outside of Sunset Crater National Monument. The fact that there is a young lava flow and lava tubes you can walk through, makes you feel like you're in a different country. Thanks so much for your information, always.
Before the Osceola mudflow (about 5000 years ago) Rainier was clearly a taller mountain. It's true that if you apply the slope completion method (take a picture of the mountain, draw straight lines aligned with the left and right slopes, and look at where the lines meet) you get a height of about 16,000 feet. Note that this is an upper limit on how tall it could have been, and in reality was probably somewhat lower. But this caveat probably applies to San Francisco Mountain too.
This is easily the best presentation on the eruption of San Francisco Mountain that I have seen. I attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and took a few geography coursesy first two years. The instructors of those classes just glazed over this topic, which many people find fascinating. Thank you a d well done!
Would love to see a video on Mt Taylor and the malpaias in New Mexico or the Valles Caldera up near Los Alamos or the 3 sisters volcanoes on the western edge of Albuquerque, NM. My home state was very active with Volcanoes at one point.
He has already done videos on the Valles Caldera, Red Hill (near AZ), Capulin (northern NM), the Soccorro magma body (why Soccorro has so many earthquakes), and one of his first volcano videos is an overview on active volcanoes on NM.
There's a similar volcano where the Three Sisters are in Oregon, an ancient volcano called Mount Multnomah researchers say it could have been over 16,000 feet. I like to see you cover that ancient volcano whenever you get a chance.
@@Techno_Idioto actually it's hypothetical that the mountain did exist but you're right so far it may not existed. Researchers are still trying found how the Three Sisters formed, and could be possible just other twin volcanoes they formed like Pavlov and her sister in Alaska.
I am reticent to call the SF Peaks "Extinct." When you look at the peaks after a snow fall, you can see a couple of spots high up with no snow. My theory is that these are indicate the presence of vents, the ground under these is warmer, so the snow melts before the surrounding land.
Yep, the "Kachina footprints" at 11,800 feet on the SE slope of Agassiz' upper cone never retain snow, for more than a couple of days, no matter how much has fallen.Dr. Lee Dexter, whose geography class I was taking at the time, once told me he suspected a low-intensity fumarole there. I lived in Ridge Hall as an NAU student, and remember sitting on a couch my roommate and I dragged out to that dorm's north side....we sat there drinking beers from a cooler on April 23, 1992....a date some wackjob said the Peaks were going to blow their top again. No eruption, but we did get hammered. Pretty cool memory.
@@MrNoneskull Thanks for writing Tim. I lived in Babbitt Hall when it was a dorm. Is Ridge the frat dorm? I took Geology when I was a student because I needed a lab science and biology wasn't my thing. Still isn't. I think your prof is right. I graduated from NAU in 1969. I was watching the Ariz Highways TV show the other night and it mentioned Jerome. I went there to collect samples from the United Verde tailings for a class in Mineralogy. But that's another story. I have hiked up Sunset Crater a few times back then when I was in shape.
Well, they hinted at that, it's a "low intensity" hot spot like Hawaii just a question on what time scale one would see another eruption: 100 years? or 100,000 years? but not extinct at least something on the eastern edge of the field. I would think it would be fairly straight forward for a scientist to show "warmer ground" and a fumerole or two wouldn't surprise me.
Could you perhaps go over the Osceola mudflow and the possibility of a repeat of that event? Mount Rainier is a very interesting and dangerous volcano, and its collapse event deserves a bit more attention (although some people also tend to overhype it too).
Nick Zentner, a professor at the Central Washington University has done a bunch of YT videos of the volcanic geology of the Pacific Northwest, including the Osceola Mudflow. Many of them are lectures to the public. He has a great presentation style. th-cam.com/video/f4-9qzv-94A/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=NickZentner
A mudflow repeat is quite likely. However, I deem a partial summit collapse of Mount Hood more likely to cause a large lahar in the next 500 years. Let's just say that I ran some numbers and even with advanced notice the damage numbers and human toll would be high. With this being said, Mount Rainier has been completely quiet as of late. Much like Mount Adams.
@@GeologyHub I've read in an old geology book about Washington that Mount Adams is in its dying days. The Cascades are full of incredibly dangerous volcanoes though, I'm surprised at how little genuine attention they get (although for some reason the alarmists love 'em). Its like putting the volcanoes of the Andes right next to very populated valleys instead of desolate forest and high desert, lots of large stratovolcanoes with heavy glaciation and a propensity for collapse. I wonder if the potential Mount Hood lahar would clog up the Columbia river like St. Helens did, that would add a lot of economic damage too. Rainier seems scary similar to San Francisco though with the chemical erosion and size...
I love this area and your channel. Hitting the subscribe button. You asked for suggestions; Laughlin Peak and NE New Mexico. Laughlin Peak, an absolutely beautiful mountain located in NE New Mexico. A volcanic region as well you know. Please do a video on that area. Capulin Volcano NM is worth going to as well.
Great video. Graduating in Flagstaff, we would go on class field trips to some of the craters. During our free time, my brother and I with friends would explore numerous craters and mountains like Kendrick Mt., Red Mt. O'Leary Peak, Mount Elden, Sunset, Moon, Merriam Craters to name a few. Lava River Cave is one of the neatest spots around Flag.
In Auckland New Zealand we have a huge amount of volcanic domes.... I think you would find the Auckland area very interesting... A whole city of 1.2mil has been built over 40+ volcanoes
Hi GeologyHub, can you do a video explaining the formation of the Ossippee Mountains in New Hampshire and the recent growth in the magma chamber under New England?
It isn't a magma chamber (that's a pool of liquid rock near-ish the surface), and therefore not "a recent growth in "the" magma chamber", it's a mass of hotter rock, very deep, and not even really well-confirmed. But very interesting. In a couple million years, it might do something near the surface. Unfortunately the only paper seems to be in a paywalled journal.
Could you make a video about the vocanoes in Myanmar like Mount Popa and Lower Chindwin? I'm not sure if they're still active or not but it would be interesting to hear more about them.
Oh yeah, interesting area. I've camped out near the huge pile of rocks when I was younger. Seems like the region was quite geologically active at some point.
I could show you some geologic wonders at Devils Lake State Park in Wisconsin that would blow your mind!! I ran an eco-tourism business there for 6 years and shared these gems with around 20,000 tourists and students. You should do an episode on it!
A great description. However. One question. Why either in discussion or on any of your maps was there no mention of Sunset crater (Last eruption about 800 years ago)?
@GeologyHub Hello GH! Thank you for making such wonderful videos. Last night and perhaps co-incidentally, I watched a presentation from Karin Sigloch regarding her discovery of slab walls last night and your video about the San Francisco Mountain-Field in AZ. That leads me to some speculations and questions I'd like to ask. Could the San Francisco Field be fueled not by a low-intensity hotspot, but instead what we think might be a 'hotspot' is the melt form a slab wall or prior piece of subducted plate stuffed against one of these walls? These slab walls are apparently stationary and 'fixed' and are considered to be previous zones of subduction that the NA continent has moved over the past 85mya. It may be my limited understanding of melt from slabs but could this explain the fields unusual mixture of extruded rocks in the volcanic field and how the field moves "east" on land over the slab wall? Secondly, could application of the slab wall hypothesis as a historical model of continental drift also explain or be related to the sudden and wide spread southwest Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up?
I wondered how The Peaks became The Peaks. This answered a lot of questions I have had as a resident of Flagstaff, particularly in the relatively smaller features in the area. The cinder cones to the northeast of the city supply the cinders we use on the roads in winter in lieu of salt; for some reason I didn't think of them as vents in their own right. There is another unusual geologic feature in Flagstaff: a "bottomless pit" (that is apparently what USGS calls it) north of E. Old Walnut Canyon Road and east of Country Club drive: 35°12'14.79"N 111°34'21.30"W . A lecturer a decade ago noted the USGS did not know how deep it was, but it was at least 800 feet deep.
Terrific video as a resident of Arizona transplanted from Washington State and living through the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in 1980 the striking similarities are crazy. Seems like its eruption cycle is 1.5M years to get recharged plus or minus a couple hundred thousand years.
I can think of a number of things I would love to see videos on. When lava flows dammed up the Grand Canyon and the lake was almost as high as the redwall and reached Moab, UT. Mt. Taylor in NM, The massive glacier that almost reached Durango, CO. Glacier on Sierra Blanca, NM. The Valles Caldera in NM. Shiprock, NM. Also, some very old extinct volcanoes and what they may have looked like millions of years ago compared to today. Thanks so much! Love the channel.
Thank you for covering my home state's biggest mountain. I do have one question though. Given that the San Francisco volcanic field is basically entirely composed of cinder cones and lava domes all being fed by the same hotspot why do you think a single stratovolcano appeared in the midst of them all? From my understanding stratovolcanos are formed by magmas within certain densities and chemical compositions. If all the volcanos in the area share one hotspot (and presumably the same magma) then it seems a bit unusual that a single stratovolcano managed to develop here.
Must be a hot-spot chemical signature but its in the transition zone between the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range. It raises an interesting question (I'm sure it's already answered): Is it a hot-spot or does it just tap a similar spot(depth) in the mantle than, say, Hawaii? In other words is the chemical signature independent from the emplacement mechanism/ eruptive process? If I'm not mistaken, the current thinking on the Colorado Plateau is related to shallow Farallon subduction. So my thinking this is located more in a slab-window possibly. Anyhow, love the videos. Nice to look at geodynamics in the middle of a day of soft rock work.
Your videos are always educational and interesting. Did you just start using a different microphone or audio settings? Your voice sounds different today.
Living in Flagstaff, the area's volcanic past is ever-present. Cinder cones are mined for use on streets and roads during winter. What is even more fascinating is that this area used to be under an ocean. A local hiking trail has limestone layers to the south and basalt boulders to the north.
I love (smirk) how we think we know exactly (to the foot) how tall this mountain was 400k yrs ago but simultaneously seem to have no clue what triggered the landslide that destroyed it.
I grew up 5 miles North of The Peaks. What a great place to explore, camp and on a clear day, the name-sake can be proven true as one can sea San Francisco. Also, gold can be found around The Peaks. Many days were spent hiking the cinder hills and volcanic flow fields out by Sunset Crater which not far from Mom's house. Worth the trip if you have not been!
The San Francisco volcanic field is still active, it's new hot spot is Sunset Crater, exploded approx 1000 yrs ago, and the natives where here to see it. Maize (early corn from mexico) were encrusted with warm lava, (left as an offering), were discovered. And are on display at the Sunset Crster National Monument Museum, just northeast of Flagstaff. Been there a few times, once it's enough, way too much to see in a day, if you include the Watpiki Loop, to see the old standing Pueblos, at least 7 of them, thats all day, sun up to sun down.
I recall Mount Humphrey having snow in Junein the higher elevations. I have been through the Sunset Crater area but,having seen it twice from the air nothing beats walking through it on foot. Arizona is a geologists dream, and with a climate that goes from tundra to desert just driving across the state.
I live in Yuma AZ and Was amazed to find out that there was so much volcanic activity here in southern AZ. Totally fascinating video and certainly answers a few questions I had ! 👍🙌
Driving from Oakland to Santa Fe, I stopped at San Francisco peak to look at the most astounding cloud formation rising above the Mt. There were seven distinct stories with clear COLUMNS holding up each story. No one else stopped to look.
It was cool to see for this old country boy from Texas. Driving way up it, parking then getting to slide down an edge of the ski slope was so fun. I was 65 at the time.
Do you have any information on the reawakening of the "extinct" Dotsero volcano in Colorado? We lived near there a few years ago but it didn't look like much of a volcano!
If you explore Oak Creek in Sedona you'll find igneous rocks washed down from the San Francisco Peaks mixed in with the Navajo sandstones. It's pretty cool.
Super interesting, I notice you mentioned San Francisco mountain being the cause of a hotspot in the mantle, similar to the Hawaii volcano chain. Were you referring to the LLSVP? I do know that it fingers up underneath the Hawaiian islands but thought it was no longer connected to Yellowstone supervolcano or anywhere nearby.
My house was built at an angle to face the Peaks, but subsequent pine growth limits the view. I sometimes try and imagine one huge peak unifying the ring of peaks surrounding the Inner Basin…the thought is stupefying. That must’ve been the most spectacular sight in North America, next to the Grand Canyon. Literally (almost) next to the Grand Canyon.
Thanks, I drove up to Flagstaff a few years ago and did the loop with sunset crater, the pueblos and the painted desert very pretty - albeit cold on that day - drive. Got out and hiked some of the volcanic features around there, anyway, just touristing at the time this explains the volcanism. Be curious how it relates to the dropoff to Sedonia, or is that just erosion.
I’m not sure if the other two mountains I want to suggest to you are volcanic in nature. But if you are covering Mt Taylor in New Mexico. That means, Along with the San Francisco peaks you will cover 2 of the 4 scared mountains to the Navajo Nation. San Francisco MNT is the western mountain and mount Taylor represents the south. Blanca Peak(CO) is the north mountain and Hesperus Mountain(CO) is the eastern one. Would you look into maybe covering those mountains as well if they are volcanic in nature ?
According to Professor Stephen Harris, in his book “Fire and Ice: The Cascade Volcanoes”, Mt. Rainier also stood around 16k ft at its peak height around 75k years ago (pg. 204).
I absolutely luv hearing about geological formations and geology in general. I live in Australia and we had a huge noise the day of the Tongan volcanic eruption. I live in Victoria and I am close to the ' You Yangs dormant volcanic park. Although dormant, do you think that the volcano could erupt again at some time? Thanksyou.
I really enjoyed this being from Arizona. There is also another volcano to the south. You should look into it. It's called table top mtn near casa grande Arizona
Near Glacier Peak, straigh West 40 miles, in Snohomish county still, at Whitehorse mountain, Three fingers, and Mt Bullon (all one spot basically) I think I see a 3.5 - 4 mile wide collapsed caldera from a full size cascades volcano that may be unknown or little mentioned.
Awesome information and very informative. In Colorado we may not have the the tallest mountain in the lower 48 but we have more tall mountains,14,000 ft or higher than all the rest of the lower 48. The county I live in has more 14’ers then the whole state of California! Of course I live in the county with the most 14’ers of any county in the lower 48! Most of our mountains are not of volcanic origin but I would love to see you do a video one the volcanos from Colorados past! Keep up the great content!
Here in AZ we call that complex Dan Francisco peaks with Humphery’s being the tallest. I’ve driven past SP ( Shit pot) and it’s cool. The lava flows by sunset crater are neat too. I live in central central AZ
Mt. Rainier in Washington state also used to be at least 16k feet tall, before the top roughly 1700 feet was deleted in the 1700s in a violent eruption. For scale, that's the same size as Mt. Bona in Alaska, only rainier is more prominent.
I just watched your video about the Missoula Megafloods and was curious if there were any super volcanic eruptions that occurred during the same time period.
Please make a follow-up video regarding to Taal volcanos latest phreatomagmatic burst, I appreciate your content sir. 🙂 Taal had 8 short-lived burst and 15,600+ tons/day of SO2 emission.
I really do enjoy talking about specifics of the San Francisco volcanic field in Arizona. It is very unusual for a volcanic field to contain basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite, dacite, trachyte, and rhyolite. It is also unusual for a single field to contain a stratovolcano, lava domes, lava dome complexes, maars, tuff rings, fissure vents, and cinder cones. Everything about this field is unusual, and in part this is due to the underlying low intensity hotspot which feeds its volcanism.
Hot springs are a wonderful part of the volcanic world.
I live in lower BC and have always enjoyed soaking in these pools.
Thanks for your work.
See you on the Frontage road..😃
It’s a living textbook!
Eruptions to produce near plinian eruption....
Me too.... Especially the recent work done on sunset crater... One of the few mainly basalt
Thank you for covering this. As a Flagstaff resident, not to many people know about San Francisco peaks and it's volcanic origins. The volcanic history of Arizona is very fascinating.
As an Arizona resident I also am fascinated by the area as a whole.
Very few places on the planet exist where every type of lava (basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite, dacite, rhyolite, trachyte, etc) erupted from the same field. I am just glad I can share my fascination with a unique feature in Arizona.
@@GeologyHub I grew up in AZ & lived there for 30+ years & I didn't know ANY of this, other than the fact that Humphrey's Peak is the tallest mountain in the state now. Great stuff to know.
P.S. I live just outside of Portland, OR now. Got a close up view of Mt. Hood where my apt is. Among the reasons why I left was the dominance of right-wing nut-burgers in the state legislature. I don't know where in AZ you live (& you don't have to tell me), but I hope you live in a welcoming neighborhood where intelligence is valued over fear.
@@GeologyHub I lived in AZ for 4 years and visited Flagstaff a few times but had no idea!
I also remember flying over and wondering how the landscape formed in such weird shapes, I always thought it had something to do with being under the ocean at one point.
Fascinating channel, thank you!
@@JoeVideoed yet Portland is a complete shitshow thanks to liberal politicians are fine with crime and homelessness and drugs running rampant, spent last 4 summers in Portland and only thing nice is summer weather, and mt hood. Not sure how you can enioy the BS going on there now
@@marked4death076 If you enjoy GeologyHub's videos you might check out Central Washington University professor Nick Zetner's video series on geology of the PNW. As a member of the USAF, I was based in AZ and roamed the state from the Four Corners to Yuma with a rock hammer. I'm based in Portland now and can keep Portland "Wierd". The refreshing thing about science is it doesn't fall easy prey to insanity or treason and promotes human advancements. I'll go back home south of Tucson to live in 135mya rhyolite and wear an Arizona Ranger badge and work with the Planetary Science Institute and enjoy voting for good reason.
What a surprising explaination for a normally overlooked region.
I agree! This guy is the man.
Great video! I've lived in AZ my whole life and the San Fransisco Peaks have always been a part. Whether it was sledding as a kid, hiking Humphrey's with my Dad, exploring the lava tubes or scrambling up SP Crater (formerly known as Shit Pot Crater), there is a lot to be had in northern Arizona. We are truly blessed to have so much unique and fascinating geology that is exposed for us to see. Keep up the awesome videos!
In keeping with the Arizona way of life, the Bottomless Pit behind the baseball fields north of E Old Walnut Canyon Road at Country Club in East Flagstaff was only fenced off about a decade ago. On Google Earth the opening itself is barely visible as deep shadow at the south end of the drainage area. I haven't walked down the the fence yet.
I live in AZ and I’ve camped many times on the foot of this mountain. I often looked at it and wondered if it had lost a few hundred feet in a volcanic eruption. Thx for answering that question. Its a very beautiful landmark in AZ. It would be even more spectacular if it was still its original height. There’s many geological sights close to this region. Sedona, Meteor Crater, and the Grand Canyon.
I've seen pictures and read articles on Meteor Crater ever since I was a kid and I finally got to visit it a few years ago. I was very impressed with how huge it is. I wonder if they built I-40 that close to it on purpose or if it was just a happy accident.
@@thomasmilitello4589 prob just an accident cause it needed to go thru Flagstaff it’s part of the original Route 66. I was just there last year and bought a tennis ball sized Meteorite from the original one that caused the crater. The owners of the property regularly go out with metal detectors and find them.
Infinite money grift @@craigthescott5074
Many years ago I climbed San Fransisco mountain when I was travelling around the USA. It's a very easy climb, just have to deal with the altitude. I summited just after dawn, and the view over the Painted Desert was just astonishing.
Fyi, altitude is measured when you are airborne, such as in an airplane. Elevation is measured when you're on the ground.
I grew up in Flagstaff. That whole volcanic field is amazing. Nice to see you cover this mountain.
Mt. Taylor located in New Mexico, near where I live has a similar horse shoe shaped blow out to the east. I always assumed it was taller before the eruption, but not sure by how much.
I was just thinking that! That would be a super interesting topic. Between that and the Malpaias, Or the Valles Caldera, 3 sisters in Abq etc…. NM has a lot of volcanic history.
Just looked it up ad he did a short video on volcanoes in NM. Looks like your area is still considered active.
Speaking of Mount Taylor, I am working on covering that now extinct volcano right now (pure coincidence). Although for Mt. Taylor the collapse appears most likely to have occurred due to several repeated collapses of an unstable edifice completely unrelated with an eruption.
@@projectjster Yeah there's a lot of volcanos in this area. To the east of me is Mt Taylor (21 miles away), to the north (about 5 miles) is a small volcano with an old lava flow that extends for about 8 miles along the rail road tracks. It has a lot of growth on it and you can tell it's an older flow.
To the south is the Bandera/Zuni flow which is huge, these are younger flows.
In the Zuni Mountains, above where I live are two cinder cone volcanos. One of which created a lava flow through a narrow canyon as it flowed downhill.
Near this flow I've found obsidian chips left by natives knapping arrow heads long ago. I've been looking for the source of this obsidian but haven't located it yet.
@@GeologyHub A Question: As I've mentioned, I'm from the area and I've always wondered how the mesa to the west of Mount Taylor formed. It's near Grants NM, it resembles a hammer when viewed from Google Earth. How do these flat topped, lava covered mesa's form?
Flagstaff resident here. I see this mountain every day. Sunset Crater which is just to the east of San Francisco Peaks is most interesting and also worth exploring. It's part of that same chain, and erupted approximately 900 years ago. Which is fairly recent considering geological time.
I absolutely love all of your videos! You've made geology interesting and fun for me. Thank you!
My husband and I visited the San Francisco Volcanic Field in April last year. This area is a wonderful living textbook for geology nerds!
My 15 yrs of driving truck, going thru Flagstaff, I never knew that Humphrey’s Peak was a part of something bigger. As ironic as it is, I’m driving thru Flagstaff now.
I went to school at Norther Arizona University and took a Geology course. This was Never mentioned in my studies! I would have loved to have know this when I lived there.
I started watching you due to Tonga, and I'm not a geology nut, but your videos are fascinating. Serious kudos.
Same here. I tuned in during La Palma. His Tonga assessments put others to shame.
I have to say I really like your videos. They are schort, enjoyably structured, well brought over, sensfully compressed information. Very imforative 👍, thank you.
I like how you just made up several words! 👍
I knew about Humphreys peak, but was excited to learn it is actually part of the complex of surrounding peaks because of the monolithic earlier structure of San Francisco mountain, and the subsequent collapse; Now that you point it out via the aerial map, it becomes intuitively apparent. We really like these educational explanations of various features.
Features like the San Francisco lava field are why I always get a window seat when flying across country. Ive gotten to the point where I can recognize what state im over by looking at the geological features on the ground and most of the time im correct or close.... thanks for your channel
This is great!! I lived in Arizona up until last year, and my favorite places to camp were Bill Williams, and outside of Sunset Crater National Monument. The fact that there is a young lava flow and lava tubes you can walk through, makes you feel like you're in a different country.
Thanks so much for your information, always.
Wasn’t Mt Rainier in Washington state 16,000ft at some point before blowing it’s top also?
Before the Osceola mudflow (about 5000 years ago) Rainier was clearly a taller mountain. It's true that if you apply the slope completion method (take a picture of the mountain, draw straight lines aligned with the left and right slopes, and look at where the lines meet) you get a height of about 16,000 feet. Note that this is an upper limit on how tall it could have been, and in reality was probably somewhat lower. But this caveat probably applies to San Francisco Mountain too.
Wow! I never heard anything about San Francisco Mountain in my entire life. 16,000+ ft? Fascinating! Thanks for educating me.
This is easily the best presentation on the eruption of San Francisco Mountain that I have seen. I attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and took a few geography coursesy first two years. The instructors of those classes just glazed over this topic, which many people find fascinating. Thank you a d well done!
I’m a geologist, so I was aware of the San Francisco volcanic field, but you added a bunch of cool details like the hot spot connection! Nice work👍
On the train ride to the Grand Canyon, the docents point out the San Francisco peaks.
Thank you for a clear and concise explanation of the volcanic history of beautiful Arizona, state of my birth.
Would love to see a video on Mt Taylor and the malpaias in New Mexico or the Valles Caldera up near Los Alamos or the 3 sisters volcanoes on the western edge of Albuquerque, NM. My home state was very active with Volcanoes at one point.
He has already done videos on the Valles Caldera, Red Hill (near AZ), Capulin (northern NM), the Soccorro magma body (why Soccorro has so many earthquakes), and one of his first volcano videos is an overview on active volcanoes on NM.
There's a similar volcano where the Three Sisters are in Oregon, an ancient volcano called Mount Multnomah researchers say it could have been over 16,000 feet. I like to see you cover that ancient volcano whenever you get a chance.
Actually, that was found to be false, as the Three Sisters are unique and not the remnants of a large volcano, meaning Mount Multnomah never existed.
@@Techno_Idioto actually it's hypothetical that the mountain did exist but you're right so far it may not existed. Researchers are still trying found how the Three Sisters formed, and could be possible just other twin volcanoes they formed like Pavlov and her sister in Alaska.
Impressed that they are able to approximate the height of a collapse volcano with such accuracy.
I am reticent to call the SF Peaks "Extinct." When you look at the peaks after a snow fall, you can see a couple of spots high up with no snow. My theory is that these are indicate the presence of vents, the ground under these is warmer, so the snow melts before the surrounding land.
Yep, the "Kachina footprints" at 11,800 feet on the SE slope of Agassiz' upper cone never retain snow, for more than a couple of days, no matter how much has fallen.Dr. Lee Dexter, whose geography class I was taking at the time, once told me he suspected a low-intensity fumarole there. I lived in Ridge Hall as an NAU student, and remember sitting on a couch my roommate and I dragged out to that dorm's north side....we sat there drinking beers from a cooler on April 23, 1992....a date some wackjob said the Peaks were going to blow their top again. No eruption, but we did get hammered. Pretty cool memory.
@@MrNoneskull Thanks for writing Tim. I lived in Babbitt Hall when it was a dorm. Is Ridge the frat dorm? I took Geology when I was a student because I needed a lab science and biology wasn't my thing. Still isn't. I think your prof is right. I graduated from NAU in 1969. I was watching the Ariz Highways TV show the other night and it mentioned Jerome. I went there to collect samples from the United Verde tailings for a class in Mineralogy. But that's another story. I have hiked up Sunset Crater a few times back then when I was in shape.
Well, they hinted at that, it's a "low intensity" hot spot like Hawaii just a question on what time scale one would see another eruption: 100 years? or 100,000 years? but not extinct at least something on the eastern edge of the field. I would think it would be fairly straight forward for a scientist to show "warmer ground" and a fumerole or two wouldn't surprise me.
Love your videos bro
Could you perhaps go over the Osceola mudflow and the possibility of a repeat of that event? Mount Rainier is a very interesting and dangerous volcano, and its collapse event deserves a bit more attention (although some people also tend to overhype it too).
mudflow = Lahar
It’s called the Osceola mudflow.
Nick Zentner, a professor at the Central Washington University has done a bunch of YT videos of the volcanic geology of the Pacific Northwest, including the Osceola Mudflow. Many of them are lectures to the public. He has a great presentation style. th-cam.com/video/f4-9qzv-94A/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=NickZentner
A mudflow repeat is quite likely. However, I deem a partial summit collapse of Mount Hood more likely to cause a large lahar in the next 500 years. Let's just say that I ran some numbers and even with advanced notice the damage numbers and human toll would be high. With this being said, Mount Rainier has been completely quiet as of late. Much like Mount Adams.
@@GeologyHub I've read in an old geology book about Washington that Mount Adams is in its dying days. The Cascades are full of incredibly dangerous volcanoes though, I'm surprised at how little genuine attention they get (although for some reason the alarmists love 'em). Its like putting the volcanoes of the Andes right next to very populated valleys instead of desolate forest and high desert, lots of large stratovolcanoes with heavy glaciation and a propensity for collapse.
I wonder if the potential Mount Hood lahar would clog up the Columbia river like St. Helens did, that would add a lot of economic damage too. Rainier seems scary similar to San Francisco though with the chemical erosion and size...
I had only seen one brief reference on this tall prehistoric volcano. Thanks for fleshing out the details for me.
Mount Rainier use to also be around 16,000 Feet. And was not that long ago regarding years prior to Rainier's eruption.
The various types of lava in a single volcanic field is absolutely crazy to me. Why is this?
th-cam.com/video/B8cqUpO54L8/w-d-xo.html
I love this area and your channel. Hitting the subscribe button. You asked for suggestions; Laughlin Peak and NE New Mexico. Laughlin Peak, an absolutely beautiful mountain located in NE New Mexico. A volcanic region as well you know. Please do a video on that area. Capulin Volcano NM is worth going to as well.
I have hicked to the top of the SanFransico peaks many times. Thank You for all the information about this beautiful mountain range.
Great video. Graduating in Flagstaff, we would go on class field trips to some of the craters. During our free time, my brother and I with friends would explore numerous craters and mountains like Kendrick Mt., Red Mt. O'Leary Peak, Mount Elden, Sunset, Moon, Merriam Craters to name a few. Lava River Cave is one of the neatest spots around Flag.
Ty, great information 👍
I live roughly an hour away from San Francisco peaks and still see snow almost all you're around on top of it speaks it's beautiful.
Aloha always super informative amazing Mahalo
In Auckland New Zealand we have a huge amount of volcanic domes.... I think you would find the Auckland area very interesting... A whole city of 1.2mil has been built over 40+ volcanoes
400,000 years ago, the 16,000 foot peak must have been quite a site to see, for the people driving down Interstate 40!
There would be huge shadow 😀
guess we will never know . since the Interstates were not built til the 1950s ....
Hi GeologyHub, can you do a video explaining the formation of the Ossippee Mountains in New Hampshire and the recent growth in the magma chamber under New England?
It isn't a magma chamber (that's a pool of liquid rock near-ish the surface), and therefore not "a recent growth in "the" magma chamber", it's a mass of hotter rock, very deep, and not even really well-confirmed. But very interesting. In a couple million years, it might do something near the surface. Unfortunately the only paper seems to be in a paywalled journal.
th-cam.com/video/e3HkaCv007g/w-d-xo.html
Very interesting and surprising coming from Arizona. Possible that Arizona had cooler weather back then? Thanks for the information!
Flagstaff gets snow quite often. It sits at close to 8,000 feet elevation.
AZ has three ski parks.
I live here. We still have snow on the ground from a month ago.
@@geosync9742 , wow! What is the average temperature for this time of year there?
@@heidipetrick918 20 and teens at night, 40s during the day. We're at 7000 feet too, so pretty high. Pine forest area, not desert.
Could you make a video about the vocanoes in Myanmar like Mount Popa and Lower Chindwin? I'm not sure if they're still active or not but it would be interesting to hear more about them.
I spent a lot of time in (then)Joshua Tree National Monument,Ca. decades ago. I'd like to hear your take on the geological forces that created it.
Oh yeah, interesting area. I've camped out near the huge pile of rocks when I was younger. Seems like the region was quite geologically active at some point.
@@floffycatto6475 I think it was part of an inland sea millions of years ago. And next door, San Jacinto has the steepest tall cliff in the US.
i love watching through the playlist on arizona volcanoes! i study geology in flagstaff, so it's really cool to learn more about the area
Interesting vide. I would love to see a video about the Long valley caldera in the eastern sierra in California.
I love how you cover active and ancient volcanos…..
I could show you some geologic wonders at Devils Lake State Park in Wisconsin that would blow your mind!! I ran an eco-tourism business there for 6 years and shared these gems with around 20,000 tourists and students. You should do an episode on it!
I’ve climbed Humphreys peak several times and the view of the blown out caldera is amazing!
It’s crazy to think that’s it’s one of the largest in the US continental history, when it doesn’t even exist anymore!
it WAS ... past tense
I can see the peak from my window. The area has endless cinder cones, lava flows and lava tubes. Amazing place to live if you like volcanoes.
A great description. However. One question. Why either in discussion or on any of your maps was there no mention of Sunset crater (Last eruption about 800 years ago)?
Thanks Man!
@GeologyHub Hello GH! Thank you for making such wonderful videos. Last night and perhaps co-incidentally, I watched a presentation from Karin Sigloch regarding her discovery of slab walls last night and your video about the San Francisco Mountain-Field in AZ. That leads me to some speculations and questions I'd like to ask. Could the San Francisco Field be fueled not by a low-intensity hotspot, but instead what we think might be a 'hotspot' is the melt form a slab wall or prior piece of subducted plate stuffed against one of these walls? These slab walls are apparently stationary and 'fixed' and are considered to be previous zones of subduction that the NA continent has moved over the past 85mya. It may be my limited understanding of melt from slabs but could this explain the fields unusual mixture of extruded rocks in the volcanic field and how the field moves "east" on land over the slab wall? Secondly, could application of the slab wall hypothesis as a historical model of continental drift also explain or be related to the sudden and wide spread southwest Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up?
I wondered how The Peaks became The Peaks. This answered a lot of questions I have had as a resident of Flagstaff, particularly in the relatively smaller features in the area. The cinder cones to the northeast of the city supply the cinders we use on the roads in winter in lieu of salt; for some reason I didn't think of them as vents in their own right.
There is another unusual geologic feature in Flagstaff: a "bottomless pit" (that is apparently what USGS calls it) north of E. Old Walnut Canyon Road and east of Country Club drive: 35°12'14.79"N 111°34'21.30"W . A lecturer a decade ago noted the USGS did not know how deep it was, but it was at least 800 feet deep.
Terrific video as a resident of Arizona transplanted from Washington State and living through the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in 1980 the striking similarities are crazy. Seems like its eruption cycle is 1.5M years to get recharged plus or minus a couple hundred thousand years.
Capulin Volcano and the northeastern New Mexico volcanic field have fascinated me for years, would love a deep dive.
I can think of a number of things I would love to see videos on. When lava flows dammed up the Grand Canyon and the lake was almost as high as the redwall and reached Moab, UT. Mt. Taylor in NM, The massive glacier that almost reached Durango, CO. Glacier on Sierra Blanca, NM. The Valles Caldera in NM. Shiprock, NM. Also, some very old extinct volcanoes and what they may have looked like millions of years ago compared to today. Thanks so much! Love the channel.
Thank you for covering my home state's biggest mountain. I do have one question though. Given that the San Francisco volcanic field is basically entirely composed of cinder cones and lava domes all being fed by the same hotspot why do you think a single stratovolcano appeared in the midst of them all? From my understanding stratovolcanos are formed by magmas within certain densities and chemical compositions. If all the volcanos in the area share one hotspot (and presumably the same magma) then it seems a bit unusual that a single stratovolcano managed to develop here.
Must be a hot-spot chemical signature but its in the transition zone between the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range. It raises an interesting question (I'm sure it's already answered): Is it a hot-spot or does it just tap a similar spot(depth) in the mantle than, say, Hawaii? In other words is the chemical signature independent from the emplacement mechanism/ eruptive process? If I'm not mistaken, the current thinking on the Colorado Plateau is related to shallow Farallon subduction. So my thinking this is located more in a slab-window possibly. Anyhow, love the videos. Nice to look at geodynamics in the middle of a day of soft rock work.
Your videos are always educational and interesting. Did you just start using a different microphone or audio settings? Your voice sounds different today.
That was great! Flagstaff is my childhood home. Thank you. Great video.
We live in the White Mountains in AZ , SE of Flagstaff. We are in a large area of Volcanos. Enjoying your videos.
Living in Flagstaff, the area's volcanic past is ever-present. Cinder cones are mined for use on streets and roads during winter. What is even more fascinating is that this area used to be under an ocean. A local hiking trail has limestone layers to the south and basalt boulders to the north.
I love (smirk) how we think we know exactly (to the foot) how tall this mountain was 400k yrs ago but simultaneously seem to have no clue what triggered the landslide that destroyed it.
I grew up 5 miles North of The Peaks. What a great place to explore, camp and on a clear day, the name-sake can be proven true as one can sea San Francisco. Also, gold can be found around The Peaks. Many days were spent hiking the cinder hills and volcanic flow fields out by Sunset Crater which not far from Mom's house. Worth the trip if you have not been!
Watching your videos is getting me very interested in all these volcanoes I've never heard of before
The San Francisco volcanic field is still active, it's new hot spot is Sunset Crater, exploded approx 1000 yrs ago, and the natives where here to see it. Maize (early corn from mexico) were encrusted with warm lava, (left as an offering), were discovered. And are on display at the Sunset Crster National Monument Museum, just northeast of Flagstaff. Been there a few times, once it's enough, way too much to see in a day, if you include the Watpiki Loop, to see the old standing Pueblos, at least 7 of them, thats all day, sun up to sun down.
I recall Mount Humphrey having snow in Junein the higher elevations. I have been through the Sunset Crater area but,having seen it twice from the air nothing beats walking through it on foot. Arizona is a geologists dream, and with a climate that goes from tundra to desert just driving across the state.
I live in Yuma AZ and Was amazed to find out that there was so much volcanic activity here in southern AZ. Totally fascinating video and certainly answers a few questions I had ! 👍🙌
Driving from Oakland to Santa Fe, I stopped at San Francisco peak to look at the most astounding cloud formation rising above the Mt. There were seven distinct stories with clear COLUMNS holding up each story. No one else stopped to look.
UFOs
It was cool to see for this old country boy from Texas. Driving way up it, parking then getting to slide down an edge of the ski slope was so fun. I was 65 at the time.
Thank you for teaching me something new today, it was very nice!
It's always amazing to pull back on something and realize a number of mountains were formally one...
Do you have any information on the reawakening of the "extinct" Dotsero volcano in Colorado? We lived near there a few years ago but it didn't look like much of a volcano!
Thank you for this. This channel is so informative. Always excellent work.
This is a very interesting geological history. Thank you.
If you explore Oak Creek in Sedona you'll find igneous rocks washed down from the San Francisco Peaks mixed in with the Navajo sandstones. It's pretty cool.
started watching this channel when you talked about the mini eruption of mt pinatubo great channel
Super interesting, I notice you mentioned San Francisco mountain being the cause of a hotspot in the mantle, similar to the Hawaii volcano chain. Were you referring to the LLSVP? I do know that it fingers up underneath the Hawaiian islands but thought it was no longer connected to Yellowstone supervolcano or anywhere nearby.
My house was built at an angle to face the Peaks, but subsequent pine growth limits the view.
I sometimes try and imagine one huge peak unifying the ring of peaks surrounding the Inner Basin…the thought is stupefying. That must’ve been the most spectacular sight in North America, next to the Grand Canyon. Literally (almost) next to the Grand Canyon.
Thanks, I drove up to Flagstaff a few years ago and did the loop with sunset crater, the pueblos and the painted desert very pretty - albeit cold on that day - drive. Got out and hiked some of the volcanic features around there, anyway, just touristing at the time this explains the volcanism. Be curious how it relates to the dropoff to Sedonia, or is that just erosion.
I’m not sure if the other two mountains I want to suggest to you are volcanic in nature. But if you are covering Mt Taylor in New Mexico. That means, Along with the San Francisco peaks you will cover 2 of the 4 scared mountains to the Navajo Nation. San Francisco MNT is the western mountain and mount Taylor represents the south. Blanca Peak(CO) is the north mountain and Hesperus Mountain(CO) is the eastern one. Would you look into maybe covering those mountains as well if they are volcanic in nature ?
as always, very interesting. thank you!
According to Professor Stephen Harris, in his book “Fire and Ice: The Cascade Volcanoes”, Mt. Rainier also stood around 16k ft at its peak height around 75k years ago (pg. 204).
I absolutely luv hearing about geological formations and geology in general. I live in Australia and we had a huge noise the day of the Tongan volcanic eruption. I live in Victoria and I am close to the ' You Yangs dormant volcanic park. Although dormant, do you think that the volcano could erupt again at some time? Thanksyou.
It would be neat to see each plates movements compared to other plates, how they continually tilt different directions
So that is why the Flagstaff area is so pretty!
I've been to Mt. Elbert and Mt. Whitney both. Lovely, both.
I really enjoyed this being from Arizona. There is also another volcano to the south. You should look into it. It's called table top mtn near casa grande Arizona
Near Glacier Peak, straigh West 40 miles, in Snohomish county still, at Whitehorse mountain, Three fingers, and Mt Bullon (all one spot basically) I think I see a 3.5 - 4 mile wide collapsed caldera from a full size cascades volcano that may be unknown or little mentioned.
Awesome information and very informative. In Colorado we may not have the the tallest mountain in the lower 48 but we have more tall mountains,14,000 ft or higher than all the rest of the lower 48. The county I live in has more 14’ers then the whole state of California! Of course I live in the county with the most 14’ers of any county in the lower 48! Most of our mountains are not of volcanic origin but I would love to see you do a video one the volcanos from Colorados past! Keep up the great content!
Here in AZ we call that complex Dan Francisco peaks with Humphery’s being the tallest. I’ve driven past SP ( Shit pot) and it’s cool. The lava flows by sunset crater are neat too. I live in central central AZ
*San stupid typos
Mt. Rainier in Washington state also used to be at least 16k feet tall, before the top roughly 1700 feet was deleted in the 1700s in a violent eruption. For scale, that's the same size as Mt. Bona in Alaska, only rainier is more prominent.
I just watched your video about the Missoula Megafloods and was curious if there were any super volcanic eruptions that occurred during the same time period.
I’m not aware of any megaeruptions during the era of the Missoula floods.
@@GeologyHub Thanks for responding, I look forward to your new posts.
You should do Mt. Apo in the Philippines. There was no evidence of a eruption, but it looks pretty active and it is located near a major city.
Hi there, I really enjoy your work, I have a request, could you explain how the cape fold occurred here in the western cape of South Africa.
WOW this is so cool, I was wondering what these vent structures were when I flew over them recently
Please make a follow-up video regarding to Taal volcanos latest phreatomagmatic burst, I appreciate your content sir. 🙂 Taal had 8 short-lived burst and 15,600+ tons/day of SO2 emission.