Newberry National Volcanic Monument
Deschutes National Forest

Newberry Volcano

• Newberry Volcano is not an extinct volcano. It will erupt again both passively (lava flows) and explosively (ash and pumice).
• Newberry Volcano is a large shield-shaped composite volcano approximately 25 miles in diameter and covers 500 square miles. It is made up of ash, pumice, lava, cinders and mudflows and contains about 100 cubic miles of volcanic material.
• The age of volcanic deposits on Newberry Volcano ranges from 700,000 to 1,300 years ago. The youngest feature is the Big Obsidian Flow (1,300 years old, about 650 A.D.) which is the youngest dated volcanic feature in central Oregon.
• The average elevation of the base of Newberry Volcano is 4,400 feet. The highest point is Paulina Peak at 7,984 feet.
• The slopes of Newberry Volcano are covered with about 400 cinder cones. Lava Butte and Mokst Butte within the Monument are two excellent examples.
• At the summit of Newberry Volcano is Newberry Crater which is about 4 miles in diameter and covers about 17 square miles.
• Newberry Crater is a caldera formed from several enormous violent eruptions of ash and pumice. The summit of Newberry Volcano collapse during a series of eruptions over a period of a half million years. By contrast the top of Mt. Mazama (Crater Lake) collapsed in one vast eruption.
• John Strong Newberry (1822-1892) grew up in Ohio, but came to know much of the geology and botany of the West.
• In 1903 Dr. I.C. Russell examined central Oregon for the U.S. Geological Survey and attempted to use the name Mount Newberry for the Paulina Mountains and Paulina Peak. Dr. John Strong Newberry was a geologist with the Pacific Railroad Surveys in 1855 when they surveyed the central Oregon area. The name Mount Newberry never found acceptance but the caldera at the summit has become known as Newberry Crater.
• In 1919 Professor W.O. Crosby studied the area around Benham Falls for a proposed reservoir site. In his report on the area he stated, "We feel that Newberry Crater is comparable in scenic and geologic interest with Crater Lake and recommend its designation as a national park or monument."
• The first detailed study of the geology of Newberry Volcano was published in 1935 by Dr. Howel William.
• In 1940 Dr. R.L. Nichols of Tufts College proposed including the Lava Cast Forest, Lava Butte, and the Lava River Caves as part of a national park on Newberry.
• The Lunar Geological Field Conference was held in Bend during August 1965. One of the major field trips during this conference was to Newberry Volcano.
• The Andesite Conference was held in Eugene and Bend during July 1968. One of the major field trips during this conference was to Newberry Volcano.
• The 1979 Pacific Northwest American Geophysical Union meeting was held in Bend during September 1979. One of the major field trips during this conference was to Newberry Volcano.
• The 2000 Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip was held on Newberry during September 2000. Three days of field trips with with more than 180 participants.