The Zuni-Bandera volcanic field in New Mexico, is an elongated, 90 km long and 1-35 km wide arrea of 2460 km2 along the Jemez lineament west of the Rio Grande Rift.
The field contains cinder cones and extensive lava flows with various types of basalt lava. The youngest lava flow, the McCartys flow, traveled 60 km to the NE, fed by lava tubes up to 29 km long. Its activity is also found in Indian legends, which is why it was believed to be only 1000 years old, but radiocarbon dating suggests an older age, about 3000 years ago.
An older volcanic episode in the field comprises the vents along the Chain of Craters, which are dated to about 3.8-3.7 million years ago. The present-day episode began about 1.7 million years ago and has formed an extensive lava flow field known as El Malpais.
The only other dated flow of Holocene age of the Zuni-Bandera field originated from Bandera Crater about 10,000 years ago. An earlier flow, the massive Pleistocene Fence Lake lava flow, traveled as far as 90 km to the west.
