Geologic Volcano Tour Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Geologic Volcano Tour - Research Paper Example In addition, there are ice caves formed from the lava tubes. The eruption type occurring in Bandera is the passive kind that produces lava flows, cinder cones and small cones. The term Hawaiian eruption is used for this eruption, as it is similar to the one that formed the Hawaiian Islands and continues to form them. Moreover, the rocks formed are called basalts and are usually black in color. In the eruptions, highly explosive eruptions fragment the magma into small cinders that result in cinder cones and gas-rich alkalic basalts make foamy lava shoot very high in the air and cool as they fall, piling up to create cones of loose particles. It is after this that craters are formed from alkali basalt resulting in the Bandera crater, therefore, the volcano is currently dormant albeit with mild signs of life considering its young age. Tectonically, the Bandera Volcanic field is located along the Jemez Lineament, an area known for crustal weakness, moreover, the zone is characterized by a concentration of late-Cenozoic volcanism. The Bandera volcanic field is also located at a transition zone between the Colorado plateau with a thick crust of over 40km (New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, 2012). In addition, the crust of the area experiences stretching from regional tectonic forces. It is from this stretching that that produces areas of weakness in the brittle little crust allowing magma to force its way upwards and onto the surface. It is on the same Jemez lineament that forms the intersection between the Rio Grande rift and the Jemez Lineament, creating more lines of weakness for volcanic activity to take place. The rift of weakness, Rio Grande rift runs from the North to the South and serves as a means of accommodating East-West stretching of the crust. It is because of this that the entire area is covered with volcanic activity like the Zuni-Bandera crater and Mount Taylor (New Mexico Earth Matters, 2006). Economically, the volcanic site is know n for tourism activities. This is due to geological areas of interest such as the ice caves and the Bandera volcano. The area is open for all to see and visit with the areas labeled as unique and historic landmarks. It spots hiking trails that tourist can climb for a fee around the mountain to the ice caves and the mountain (Icecaves.com, n.d). Other than this, there are not other economic resources or activities suitable in the area for commercial or personal purposes. As for hazards associated with the volcano, there are few signs of a likelihood of an eruption, which makes it a relatively safe area in which to be. This is because despite its youth, there have not been any eruptions in over a thousand years. Groundwater The Antlers sandstone occurs in the in a 4400 square mile area of southeastern Oklahoma and runs parallel to the red river (Morton, 1992). The sandstone comprising the Antlers aquifer is only exposed in the northern side where groundwater runs unconfined (Hart & Da vis, 1981). The sandstone is made up of sand, clay, conglomerate and limestone deposited on Paleozoic rocks. The Antlers sandstone and cretaceous rocks underlie the Gulf Coast Plain Physiographic Province in an area that is mostly plain and is drained by the Red River and some of its major tributaries. The sediments mentioned from the Antlers Sandstone are representative materials that originate from the shoreline sea that