Аризонаның Солтүстік Шығысындағы жанартаулық аймақтар

Part of the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona

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. 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 stratovolcano complex.

This volcanic field seems to have formed from a geological hotspot. As the North American Plate moves over the spot, new volcanoes appear. Thus, the newest volcanoes are at the east side of the field. Most of the volcanoes are basalt cinder cones, but there are also large lava domes consisting of rhyolite and dacite. 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. Areas of the volcanic field have been used by NASA for testing techniques for exploration in a simulated extraterrestrial terrain environment. NASA has also conducted the Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS) tests here.

Name Elevation Location Last eruption metersfeetCoordinatesBill Williams Mountain2,8219,256 2.8 million years agoColton Crater (Crater 160)2,2467,368 Double Crater2,4267,959 Kendrick Peak2,1407,0215,500 years ago Strawberry Crater Sunset Crater2,4468,026950 ± 40 yearsSugarloaf Peak 220,000 years ago