NATURE · MOUNTAIN
Pisgah Crater
Nature
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Pisgah Crater, or Pisgah Volcano, is a young cinder cone in California’s Mojave Desert within the Lavic Lake volcanic field. Its age remains uncertain, with estimates for its latest eruption ranging from about 2,000 to 50,000 years ago and newer dating suggesting about 18,000 to 22,500 years. Geologists believe it erupted at least three times, producing broad basalt lava flows, tephra, and pyroclastic material that formed the present cone. The surrounding flows contain lava tubes and caves, including SPJ Cave. Extensive quarrying for railroad ballast and other cinder products has lowered and reshaped the cone, making it both a notable volcanic landmark and a vivid example of human alteration of the landscape.
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