Contact | RSS | EN | DE | EL | ES | FR | IT | RU

Medicine Lake volcano

Updated: Jun 6, 2023 01:18 GMT -
shield volcano 2,414 m / 7,921 ft
California (Canada and USA (mainland)), 41.58°N / -121.57°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

Medicine Lake is a large shield volcano in northeastern California about 50 km (30 mi) northeast of Mount Shasta, rising about 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) above the Modoc Plateau to an elevation of 2,376 metres (7,795 ft). It contains a 12 km x 7 km wide caldera.
The shield volcano is composed primarily of basaltic lava flows up to about 1 km thick, but measures 35 from E to W and 45 km from N to S, covering more than 2000 km2. Its sheer weight has bended the underlying strata down by 0.5 km under its center. It contains at least 600 km3 of lava, making it the most voluminous volcano of the Cascades.
Although it probably has not erupted for 1000 years, there have been at least 6 eruptions during the past 4,000 years, and it is likely to erupt again in the future. Its proximity to inhabited towns, roads and other infrastructure, it has been designated a "high threat volcano" by the USGS.
It is believed that the Medicine Lake volcano is fed by many small magma chambers rather than one large one.

Show interactive Map
[hide map] [enlarge]
Typical eruption style: effusive
Medicine Lake volcano eruptions: 1910(?), 1080, 890 ± 100, 830, 800(?), 720(?), 50 BC(?), 780 BC ± 100, 1080 BC ± 50, 2410 BC ± 100

Latest nearby earthquakes

No recent earthquakes



See also: Sentinel hub | Landsat 8 | NASA FIRMS

No news in this list.

Try our free app!
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
Android | iOS version

More on VolcanoDiscovery

Support us - Help us upgrade our services!

We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world. Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources.
We need financing to increase hard- and software capacity as well as support our editor team. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every donation will be highly appreciated. If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features, write great content, and in upgrading our soft- and hardware, please make a donation (PayPal or Online credit card payment).

Planned features:
  • Improved multilanguage support
  • Tsunami alerts
  • Faster responsiveness
Thanks to your past donations, these features have been added recently:
  • Design upgrade
  • Detailed quake stats
  • Additional seismic data sources
Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online:
Android | IOS
Thank you!
Stop Russia's Agression - Support Ukraine
Significant parts of this website use brilliant open-source software developed by Ukrainians. Russia's unprovoked war has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and the beautiful country of Ukraine is being destroyed. We cannot be silent even if the topic of this website has nothing to do with politics.
If you like to support Ukraine from abroad:
Ukrainians recommend the Come Back Alive charity. For other options, see StandWithUkraine.
Sources: VolcanoDiscovery / VolcanoAdventures and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Most text and images on our websites are owned by us. Re-use is generally not permitted without authorization. Contact us for licensing rights.
Volcanoes & Earthquakes
VolcanoDiscovery Home
Volcanoes | Earthquakes | Photos | Volcano News | App
Adventure & Study Travel
Tours to Volcanoes and Volcanic Areas: walking tours, photo tours, study tours
Tours & Dates | FAQ | About us
Get our newsletter!
Company info
Contact | Legal info | Terms & conditions
Follow us
Follow us on facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Twitter Visit our Youtube channel
EN | DE | EL | ES | FR | IT | RU
VolcanoDiscovery GmbH, Germany, Reg. nr.: HRB 103744, EU Tax Id: DE 310 395 322 owned and created by
Dr. Tom Pfeiffer, volcanologist, volcano photographer, tour organizer member of
IAVCEI
Volcanological Society
Ecotourism Greece
Insured by R+V
VolcanoDiscovery © 2004- All Rights Reserved | Privacy - cookie settings