MAP
[link to quake.wr.usgs.gov]

ACTIVITY
[link to earthquake.usgs.gov]

CERRO PRIETO VOLCANO
BAJA CALIFORNIA

Country: México
Subregion Name: México
Volcano Number: 1401-00-
Volcano Type: Lava dome
Volcano Status: Holocene?
Last Known Eruption: Unknown
Summit Elevation: 223 m 732 feet
Latitude: 32.418°N 32°25'6"N
Longitude: 115.305°W 115°18'18"W

The Cerro Prieto geothermal field is located at the head of the Gulf of California, 35 km south of the city of Mexicali. Cerro Prieto lies in an active continental rift that is transitional between the transform San Andreas fault system to the north and a spreading ridge of the East Pacific Rise in the Gulf of California to the south. The only surficial volcanic feature at Cerro Prieto, which is located near sea level on the Colorado River delta, is a small, 223-m-high compound dacitic lava dome. A 200-m-wide crater is located at the summit of the NE-most dome. The Cerro Prieto dome was roughly estimated from paleomagnetic evidence to have formed during a series of events between 100,000 and 10,000 years ago. Cucupas Indian legends described a monster that covered the land with hot rocks, which grew through the soil and emitted fire tongues, a possible reference to the growth of the volcano.