Eruptive dynamics in basaltic volcanoes are controlled, in part, by the conduit geometry. However, uncertainties in conduit shape and dike-to-conduit transition geometry have limited our predictive capability for hazards assessments. We characterize the subvolcanic geometry of small-volume basaltic volcanoes (magmatic volatile-driven eruptions, 0.1 to 0.5 km 3 ) based on a synthesis of field studies of five basaltic volcanoes exposed to varying degrees by erosion and exhibiting feeder dikes, conduits, and vent areas ≤250 m depth. Study areas include East Grants Ridge (New Mexico, USA), Basalt Ridge, East Basalt Ridge, Paiute Ridge, and Southeast Crater Flat (Nevada, USA). Basaltic feeder dikes 250 to 100 m deep have typical widths of 4-12 m, with smooth host-rock contacts (rhyolite tuff). At depths less than 100 m, heterogeneities in the host rock form preferential pathways for small dike splays and sills, resulting in a 30-m effective width at 50 m depth. The development of a complex conduit at depths less than 70 m is reflected in bifurcating dikes and brecciation and incorporation of the country rock. The overall zone of effect at depths less than 50 m is ≤110 m wide (220 m elongated along the feeder dike). Based on comparisons with theoretical conduit flow models, the width of the feeder dike at depths from 250 to 500 m is expected to range from 1 to 10 m and is expected to decrease to about 1-2 m at depths greater than 500 m. The flaring shape of the observed feeder systems is similar to results of theoretical modeling using lithostatic pressure-balanced flow conditions. Sizes of observed conduits differ from modeled dimensions by up to a factor of 10 in the shallow subsurface (<50 m depth), but at depths greater than 100 m the difference is a factor of 2 to 4. This difference is primarily due to the fact that observed eroded conduits record the superimposed effects of multiple eruptive events, while theoretical model results define dimensions necessary for a single, steady eruption phase. The complex details of magmahost rock interactions observed at the study areas (contact welding, brecciation, bifurcating dikes and sills, and stoping) represent the mechanisms by which the lithostatic pressurebalanced geometry is attained. The similarity in the normalized shapes of theoretical and observed conduits demonstrates the appropriateness of the pressure-balanced modeling approach, consistent with the conclusions of Wilson and Head (J Geophys Res 86:2971-3001, 1981 for this type of volcano.

Five Pleistocene basaltic volcanoes in Crater Flat (southern Nevada) demonstrate thc complexity of eruption processes associated with small-volume basalts and the cffccts of initial emplacement characteristics on post-eruptive geomorphic evolution of thc volcanic surfaces. The volcanoes record eruptive processes in their pyroclastic facies ranging from "classical" Strombolian mechanisms to, potentially, violent Strombolian mechanisms. Cone growth was accompanied, and sometimes disrupted, by effusion of lavas from the bases of cones. Pyroclastic cones were built upon a gently southwardsloping surface and were prone to failure of their down-slope (southern) flanks. Early lavas flowed primarily southward and, at Red and Black Cone volcanoes, carricd abundant rafts of cone material on the tops of the flows. These resulting early lava ficlds eventually built platforms such that later flows erupted from the eastern (at Rcd Cone) and northern (at Black Cone) bases of the cones. Three major surface features -scoria cones, lava fields with abundant rafts of pyroclastic material, and lava fields with littlc or no pyroclastic material -experienced different post-eruptive surficial processcs. 1Contrary to previous interpretations, we argue that the Pleistocene Crater Flat volcanoes are monogenetic, each having formed in a single eruptive episode lasting months to a few years, and with all eruptive products having emanated from the area of the volcanocs' main cones rather than from scattered vents. Geochemical variations within thc volcanoes must be interpreted within a monogenetic framework, which implies preservation of magma source heterogeneities through ascent and eruption of thc magmas.

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Scoria cones are commonly assumed to have been constructed by the accumulation of ballistically ejected clasts from discrete, relatively coarse-grained Strombolian bursts and subsequent avalanching such that the cone slopes are at or near the angle of repose for loose scoria. The cone at the hawaiitic Lathrop Wells volcano, southern Nevada, contains deposits that are consistent with these processes during early cone-building phases; these early deposits are composed mainly of coarse lapilli and fluidal bombs and are partially welded, indicating relatively little cooling during flight. However, the bulk of the cone is composed of relatively fine-grained (ash and lapilli) planar beds with no welding, even within a few tens of meters of the vent. This facies is consistent with deposition by direct fallout from sustained eruption columns of relatively well-fragmented material, primarily mantling cone slopes and with a lesser degree of avalanching than is commonly assumed. A laterally extensive fallout deposit (as much as 20 km from the vent) is inferred to have formed contemporaneously with these later cone deposits. This additional mechanism for construction of scoria cones may also be important at other locations, particularly where the magmas are relatively high in volatile content and where conditions promote the formation of abundant microlites in the rising mafic magma.