Newberry Volcano : Ask Biography

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Newberry Volcano (with Newberry Caldera) is a large potentially active shield volcano located 40 mi east of the Cascade Range and about 20 mi southeast of Bend, Oregon. It is not a typical shield volcano. In addition to erupting basaltic lavas, it also has erupted andesitic and even rhyolitic lava.

The volcano is 20 mi in diameter and has an approximate volume of 80 c�mi. It possesses a large oval-shaped caldera 4 xx in diameter, called the Newberry Caldera. Within the caldera there are two lakes (Paulina Lake and East Lake), many pyroclastic cones, lava flows, and obsidian domes.

A deep gash in the northern caldera wall, dubbed "The Fissure", is the end of a 29 mi long series of fractures called the Northwest Rift Zone. Approximately 6,100 years ago, fissure basalt flows erupted from the rift and covered part of Newberry's northwest flank.

Newberry Volcano was named for John Strong Newberry, who explored central Oregon for the Pacific Railroad Surveys in 1855.

During the Apollo program, parts of the volcano that resemble the Moon's surface were used to train the astronauts.