The San Francisco volcanic field is an area of
volcanoes in northern
Arizona, north of
Flagstaff, US. The field covers 1,800 square miles (4,700 km2) of the southern boundary of the
Colorado Plateau. The field contains 600 volcanoes ranging in age from nearly 6 million years old to less than 1,000 years (
Miocene to
Holocene), of which
Sunset Crater is the youngest.[1] The highest peak in the field is
Humphreys Peak, at Flagstaff's northern perimeter: the peak is Arizona's highest at 12,633 feet (3,851 m) and is a part of the
San Francisco Peaks, an active[2]stratovolcano complex.
Given that Sunset Crater is such a young volcanic feature of this area and that eruptions have occurred every several thousands of years in frequency, it is likely that there will be a future eruption in the San Francisco Volcanic field.[3] However, it is impossible to predict when and exactly where a new eruption might occur. The
United States Geological Survey (USGS) says that a future eruption would likely be in the eastern side of the volcanic field, where the most recent volcanic activity has occurred. Such an eruption is likely to be small and pose little hazard due to the remoteness of the area.[3]
Visitation and usage
Popular tourist and hiking destinations in the volcanic field include the
Kendrick Mountain Wilderness, 20 miles northwest of Flagstaff; and Sunset Crater. Sunset crater has a hiking trail along an
ʻaʻā lava flow to its base.[4]
Areas of the volcanic field have been used by
NASA for testing techniques for exploration in a simulated extraterrestrial terrain environment.[5]NASA has also conducted the
Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS) tests here.
^Holm, RF; Moore, RB (1987). "Holocene scoria cone and lava flows at Sunset Crater, northern Arizona". Geological Society of America Centennial Field Guide. pp. 393–97.