National Park ServiceU.S. Department of the Interior

Cinder Cones, Lava Flows, and Lava Tube

Mojave National Preserve

Driving across the Mojave Desert on Interstate 15 or Kelbaker Road, visitors might notice a series of peculiar features on the horizon: thirty-two conical mounds of red and black volcanic rocks rise abruptly above the desert landscape. Surrounded by a sea of hardened lava flows, these little volcanos—cinder cones—began erupting into existence 7.6 million years ago. Lava last flowed just 10,000 years ago. Abundant and well preserved, these geo-logic features were designated as Cinder Cone National Natural Landmark in 1973.

Introduction

Soda from a Cinder Cone Millions of years ago, fountains of liquid magma erupted through vents in the earth’s crust beneath present-day Mojave National Preserve. Much like the opening of a shaken can of soda pop, hot, pres-surized magma spewed skyward. Upon contact with cool air, the magma instantly solidified, preserving the bubbles created by escaping gases. The light, hole-filled rocks, or cinders, accumulated around the vent and formed a cone-shaped hill. When the grow-ing piles of cinders became too steep, avalanches created the roughly 30-degree slopes evident today.

Unlike a can of soda pop, which erupts for only a brief moment, the fountains that create cinder cones can last months, or even years. As subterranean pres-sures decrease and the eruption comes to an end, black basaltic lava may slowly flow from the vent, oozing out across the landscape.

Today, basalt formed from such lava flows can be seen among the cinder cones. Most flows are 10 to 13 feet thick, and exhibit both ropy (pahoehoe) and blocky (aa) surfaces.

Recipe for a Volcano Volcanic eruptions don’t occur everywhere. Several “ingredients” must combine at the right place and time. While the geologic complexities of Southern California are still under investigation, many re-searchers think that faulting, block movement, and associated magma production are key ingredients contributing to the recipe for cinder cones and lava flows in Mojave National Preserve.

During the Mesozoic Era (~245-65 million years ago), extensive tectonic activity in western North America resulted in a dynamic period of volcanism and fault-ing as the Pacific Plate began to slide beneath the North American Plate. Then, around 30 million years ago, great fault systems developed further throughout present-day California. Regional movement of these faults cracked the earth’s crust into blocks.

As the plates and blocks of the earth’s crust slide and rotate, they generate friction and tremendous heat. Beneath the Mojave, rocks of the lower crust melted. Because it is less dense than the surrounding rock, the melted, mantle-derived basalt, or magma, rises toward the surface. When magma cannot find a path upwards it pools into magma chambers. These chambers can be huge, providing enough magma for many volcanos over several years. To form a volcano, however, magma must reach the surface.

The spaces between fault blocks are zones of weak-ness reaching down to the mantle. Pressure within magma chambers was released as eruptions through such fractures or vents in the earth’s crust, providing magma with a way up and out. With this final ingre-dient, a hot and “fresh” volcano is formed.

Flows, Tunnels, & Tubes Not all lava is the same. Very thick, gooey rhyolitic lava doesn’t flow very far. The runny basaltic sort that characterizes some of the lava flows of Mojave National Preserve, however, spreads out as smoothly as hot maple syrup. It flowed from the sides of the cones or pooled near their bases.

As the lava streamed out across the land, it slowly be-gan to cool. Often, the top of a flow would cool while liquid lava continued moving underneath, creating a tunnel. When the eruption ended, the flowing lava in the tunnel either cooled in place or emptied out the tunnel’s end, leaving a hollow lava tube.

A lava tube is accessible via a 5-mile drive from Kel-baker Road. Climbing through a collapsed hole in the tube’s roof, visitors have a rare opportunity to view this river of rock from the lava’s perspective.

Directions to Lava Tube The lava tube is located about 5 miles east of Kelbak-er Road on the unpaved and unsigned Aiken Mine Road. A High clearance vehicle is recommended.

To Aiken Mine Road: From Interstate 15: 19 miles south of Baker, Calif. on Kelbaker Road; turn north (left) onto Aiken Mine Road.

From Interstate 40: 28 miles west of Ludlow, Calif., turn north onto Kel-baker Road; continue 23 miles to Kelso Depot Visitor Center (see below).

From Kelso Depot Visitor Center: 15 miles north of Kelso on Kelbaker Road; turn north (right) onto Aiken Mine Road.

From Jct. of Kelbaker & Aiken Mine Roads: Follow Aiken Mine Road, passing an old water tank and corral after 1.6 miles. At about 4.5 miles, bear left at a fork in the road. Continue another 1/4 miles, past a horse corral to the left, to where the road widens into a circular parking area.

From the parking area, walk uphill on a very rough roadway about 300 yards to a rock cairn (may not be visible) or metal post marking a beaten path toward a cinder cone to the east (right). This trail leads to the lava tube entrance.

The lava tube is not maintained by the National Park Service. Enter at your own risk.

Map

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Kelso DepotVisitor Center

Hole-in-the-WallInformation Center

Roads may beimpassablein inclementweather

Road notmaintained

M O J A V E

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SILVERLAKE(dry)

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Black Canyon Wash

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Kingston Wash

Wheaton Wash

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KeystoneSpring

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KesslerSpring

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Cedar Canyon Road

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New York Mountains Road

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National Trails Highway

Kelbaker Road

Mid Hills to Hole-in-the-Wall Trail

Hole-in-the-Wall Nature TrailRings Trail

KelsoDunesTrailhead

TeutoniaPeak Trail

Hole-in-the-WallCampground

Mid HillsCampground

Black Canyon Groupand EquestrianCampground

21mi34km

18mi 29km

5mi8km

15mi24km

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18mi29km

Primm to Las Vegas40 mi64km

Fenner to Needles35mi56km

Searchlight to CottonwoodCove, Lake Mead National

Recreation Area14mi22km

To Laughlin20mi32km

To Amboy18mi29km

To I-4023mi37km

Ludlowto Barstow49mi79km

Searchlight to Las Vegas44mi71km

Baker to Furnace Creek,Death Valley National Park113mi182km

300yds

Horse Corral

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Lava Flow Lava Flow

LAVA TUBE

Cinder Cone

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Water Tank& Corral

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Hole-in-the-WallFire Center

VulcanMine

MorningStar Mine

PROVIDENCEMOUNTAINS STATERECREATION AREAMary Beal Nature Trail

GovernmentHoles

Airstrip

Airstrip

ZzyzxDesert Studies Center

Goffs Schoolhouse

Yates Well

Halloran Springs

Fort Piute(site)

Historic Route 66 passedthrough this area alongvarious alignments.

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TeutoniaPeak5755ft1754m

TurquoiseMountain4511ft1375m

SolomonsKnob

Wildcat Butte5179ft1579m

KesslerPeak

6163ft1878m

KokoweefPeak6038ft1840m

Clark Mountain7929ft2417m

ShadowMountain4197ft 1279m

StripedMountain

5929ft1807m

Mountain Pass4730 ft1742m

Halloran Summit4000ft1219m

Castle Dome3299ft1006m

Brown Buttes

Hidden Hill

Table Top6176ft1882m

Tortoise ShellMountain4610ft1405m

HackberryMountain

5390ft1643m

PintoMountain6144ft1873m

7533ft2296m

Lanfair Buttes4360ft1329m

GoffsButte

3612ft1101m

Signal Hill3602ft1098m

Halfway Hill2696ft822m

Fountain Peak6996ft2132m

CastlePeaks5829ft1777m

HartPeak

5543ft1689m

FlattopMountain3029ft923m

Homer Mountain3739ft1140m

South Pass2630ft802m

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Salton Sea

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Colorado River

JoshuaTree NP

Death

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LakeMeadNRA

MojaveNationalPreserve

Los Angeles

LasVegas

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KingmanBarstow

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C A L I F O R N I A

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500 km

500 mi

Nearby Desert National Park System Areas