The Carrizozo volcanic field is made of the older Broken Back lava flow and the younger Carrizozo lava flow. The Broken Back flow is about 16 km long and 11 km wide. It was produced by eruptions at two cinder cones in the northwest part of the flow. The Carrizozo flow is 68 km long, one of the longest lava flows on Earth. It covers an area of 328 square km and has a volume of 4.2 cubic km. The Carrizozo flow originated from three cinder cones at the north end of the flow. The unweathered character of this flow suggests it is only 1,000 to 1,500 years old.
Right: Space Shuttle photo STS 003-10-0613 looking northwest across the Carrizozo volcanic field in March 1982.
Sources of Information:
Wood, C.A., and Kienle, J., 1993, Volcanoes of North America: Cambridge University Press, New York, 354 p.