Young volcanism in Millard County

Abstract

Geoscientists, naturalists, and rock-hound enthusiasts have explored Ice Springs volcanic field (ISVF) for nearly 130 years because it is one of the youngest, extension-related volcanic centers in Utah and the Southwest U.S. Ice Springs received its name due to the presence of ice within its expansive a’a lava flows (Davis, 2014), which have an interesting age discrepancy. Previous work on Ice Springs dated the ISVF as 660 years old (Valastro and others, 1972), but we now introduce an age date of 9,800 to 11,100 years old. Although the eruptive and effusive deposits (more explosive vs passive, respectively) capture our imagination today, it is possible that they were natural hazards for the early Paleo-Indians of the region.