Zuni-Bandera volcanic field (also known as Bandera lava field, Grants Malpais and Malpais volcanic field) is a

volcanic field A volcanic field is an area of Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity. The type and number of volcanoes required to be called a "field" is not well-defined. Volcanic fields usually consist of clusters of up to 100 volcanoes ...

located in the state of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The volcanic field has been considered for geothermal exploitation. It is on the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated

New Mexico Scenic Byways Scenic and Historic Byways are highways in New Mexico known for their scenic beauty or historic significance. The New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department Scenic and Historic Byways Program was made effective July 31, 1998 to establi ...

Origins

The Zuni-Bandera volcanic field lies along the

Jemez Lineament The Jemez Lineament is a chain of late Cenozoic volcanic fields, long, reaching from the Springerville and White Mountains volcanic fields in East-Central Arizona to the Raton-Clayton volcanic field in Northeastern New Mexico. The lineament ...

, a zone of weakness in the lower crust and upper

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

that allows

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

formed in the mantle to reach the surface. The magmas erupted in the field includes both

tholeiitic basalt The tholeiitic magma series is one of two main magma series in subalkaline igneous rocks, the other being the calc-alkaline series. A magma series is a chemically distinct range of magma compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic magma i ...

(an iron-rich basalt with a low

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...

content) and

alkaline basalt Alkali basalt or alkali olivine basalt is a dark-colored, porphyritic volcanic rock usually found in oceanic and continental areas associated with volcanic activity, such as oceanic islands, continental rifts and volcanic fields. Alkali basalt is ...

. The tholeiitic basalt shows chemical and isotopic signatures of magma formed from the

spinel Spinel () is the magnesium/aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula in the cubic crystal system. Its name comes from the Latin word , which means ''spine'' in reference to its pointed crystals. Properties S ...

-rich mantle rock of the

lithosphere A lithosphere () is the rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust (geology), crust and the portion of the upper mantle (geology), mantle that behaves elastically on time sca ...

, the outer rigid shell of the Earth that includes the crust and uppermost mantle. The alkaline basalt, by contrast, formed from the

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...

-rich mantle rock of the

asthenosphere The asthenosphere () is the mechanically weak and ductile region of the upper mantle of Earth. It lies below the lithosphere, at a depth between ~ below the surface, and extends as deep as . However, the lower boundary of the asthenosphere is not ...

, the

ductile Ductility is a mechanical property commonly described as a material's amenability to drawing (e.g. into wire). In materials science, ductility is defined by the degree to which a material can sustain plastic deformation under tensile stres ...

region of the mantle just below the lithosphere. Little crustal material was assimilated into the magmas, although the tholeiitic magma experienced some

fractional crystallization Fractional crystallization may refer to: * Fractional crystallization (chemistry), a process to separate different solutes from a solution * Fractional crystallization (geology) Fractional crystallization, or crystal fractionation, is one of the ...

at shallow depths in the crust.

Exploration

A significant portion of the volcanic field is part of the

El Malpais National Monument El Malpais National Monument is a National Monument located in western New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. The name El Malpais is from the Spanish term '' Malpaís'', meaning ''badlands'', due to the extremely barren and dramatic volc ...

. Several of the lava tubes are available for exploration by permit. In addition, hiking trails enable visitors to see the lava field's unique characteristics. Lava field at El Malpais

Bandera Crater

Located on private property at and possessing a height of , Bandera Crater last erupted between 9,500 and 10,900 years ago. The nearly 17.5 mile long

lava tube A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave. Formation A lava tube is a type of lava ca ...

emanating from this crater is the longest in North America. Most of the lava tube has collapsed but portions still remain as caves. One of these caves contains an over 900 year old ice cave and can be accessed by the public. The land that contains the ice cave was purchased by Sylvestre Mirabal in the early 1900s. Mirabal mined the ice in the ice cave to cool the beer in a saloon that he operated. His daughter married into the Candelaria family, which continues to own and operate the ice cave to this day. Ice mining was halted in 1946. The ice cave, itself, never gets above 31 °F. It is currently 20 ft thick and has a green hue due to Arctic algae.

Other Notable Vents

References

{{Quaternary Footer Malpaíses (landform) Volcanic fields of New Mexico Landforms of Cibola County, New Mexico Lava fields Pliocene volcanism Pleistocene volcanism Potentially active volcanoes Neogene geology of New Mexico Quaternary geology of New Mexico Pliocene United States Pleistocene United States Basin and Range Province

Origins

Exploration

Bandera Crater

Other Notable Vents

See also

References