Ubehebe Crater — When Groundwater Meets Magma
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Transcript
Ubehebe is a maar crater created by explosive interaction between rising basaltic magma and groundwater. USGS research dates the most recent eruptive episode to roughly 2,100 years ago—geologically very recent. When hot magma encountered water in sediments beneath the surface, steam expanded violently and blasted rock outward. The result is not a classic cone built by flowing lava, but a broad crater surrounded by fragmented deposits. The local volcanic field includes several overlapping craters, showing that the event involved multiple explosions. Death Valley’s extremes therefore include more than heat and depth. The landscape also preserves a young volcanic system created by water in a place famous for dryness.