Kirk Schleiffarth is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Northern Arizona University (2014-present). He has experience studying a variety of volcano-tectonic provinces with a variety of techniques. In 2010, he spent several months monitoring and cataloging volcanic activity at Colima volcano in Mexico. From 2012-2014, he investigated the Eocene Challis Volcanic Field in central Idaho for […]
Yellowstone is the site of the largest geothermal system in North America, which is fueled by a giant magma reservoir that is only 4 km beneath the surface. The most recent supereruption took place 640,000 years ago, which ejected >1,0003 km (240 mi3) of material and produced the 45 x 85 km (28 x 53 mi) Yellowstone […]
The rugged and heavily glaciated Cascade Range stretches from northern California through Oregon, Washington and into southern British Columbia. The Cascades are the result of millions of years of collisions, uplift, and volcanic activity. Lassen Peak and Mt. St. Helens were the only volcanoes to erupt during the 20th century with major eruptions in 1915 […]
Pico de Orizaba or Citlaltepetl, at 18,490 ft. above sea level, is the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest mountain in North America. It is a dormant stratovolcano within the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt that extends across much of central Mexico. The modern day volcanic edifice of Pico de Orizaba was built within and […]
100 years ago, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century occurred on the Alaska Peninsula, west of Anchorage. Beginning on June 6th, 1912, a new vent produced an explosive three day eruption that produced 13.5 cubic kilometers of material (over 3 times larger than the 4 cubic kilometers of the 1980 of Mount St […]
