Cima, California

Location: 35.25N, 115.75W
Elevation: 2,132 to 4,950 ft. (650 to 1,509 m)

The Cima Volcanic Range contains 52 vents and more than 65 flows that cover an area of ~150 sq km in the Mojave Desert. Over 30 of these cones and associated flows are Pleistocene in age and are located in the southern portion of this field. These cones range in size from 82 to 508 ft. (25 to 155 m) in height and have mean diameters ranging from 656 to 3,018 ft. (200 to 920 m).

Photos By Mike De Marquette
Click on the above image for a panoramic view of this area (231K).

The younger cones of this region are steep sided and relatively unweathered but the older cones are deeply cut by gullies that expose agglutinate and feeder dikes. In addition to its cones and flows, Cima field is also known for its abundance of mafic and ultramafic xenoliths. Cima's cinder cones are polygenetic in character, in that at least four of its Pleistocene cones have erupted off and on over periods as great as several hundred thousand years.

Photos By Mike De Marquette
Click on the above image for a panoramic view of the area (396K).

These cones of Cima are located off Kelbaker Rd between Interstate 40 and Interstate 15. This area which is about 68 miles (110 km) southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 93 miles (105 km) northeast of Barstow, California can get very hot during the summer months, temperatures there can reach up to 115 degrees F +.

Sources

Wood, Charles A., Jurgen Kienle, eds; 1990 [John C. Dohrenwend] Volcanoes of North America: United States and Canada, Cambridge University Press, p.240-241.

Photos Courtesy Mike De Marquette



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