Volcanic evolution of the Pacific Northwest: From the Cascades Range to Yellowstone (video)

The Pacific Northwest is a volcanological wonderland.

This animation attempts to explain its volcanic evolution over 55 million years.

The Pacific Northwest consists of:

1. An active volcanic arc (Cascades Range)
2. A nearby ocean ridge (Pacific Plate-Juan de Fuca Plate spreading ridge)
3. The world’s youngest flood basalt province (Columbia River Basalt)
4. A hot-spot chain of eastward-younging volcanoes (Yellowstone Trend)
5. Volcanism related to continental extension
6. And more…

The western margin of North America has long been dominated by subduction and dextral transtension.

Tectonics of the Pacific Northest yield a varied volcanic history. Thus, the Pacific Northwest is a volcanological wonderland.

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