REPORT: Volcano Hazards in the Three Sisters Region, Oregon

-- W.E. Scott, R.M. Iverson, S.P. Schilling, and B.J. Fischer, 2001,
Volcano Hazards in the Three Sisters Region, Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-437, 14p. 


 Three Sisters is one of three potentially active volcanic centers that lie close to rapidly growing communities and resort areas in Central Oregon. Two types of volcanoes exist in the Three Sisters region and each poses distinct hazards to people and property. South Sister, Middle Sister, and Broken Top, major composite volcanoes clustered near the center of the region, have erupted repeatedly over tens of thousands of years and may erupt explosively in the future. In contrast, mafic volcanoes, which range from small cinder cones to large shield volcanoes like North Sister and Belknap Crater, are typically short-lived (weeks to centuries) and erupt less explosively than do composite volcanoes. Hundreds of mafic volcanoes scattered through the Three Sisters region are part of a much longer zone along the High Cascades of Oregon in which birth of new mafic volcanoes is possible. This report describes the types of hazardous events that can occur in the Three Sisters region and the accompanying volcano-hazard-zonation map outlines areas that could be at risk from such events. -- Scott, et.al., 2001

• In HTML Format
  • Summary
  • Introduction
• Report Link
  • Report -- Link to: USGS Publications Warehouse
• Digital Data
  • Digital data for volcano hazards of the Three Sisters region, Oregon -- Schilling, et.al., 2008, USGS Open-File Report 2007-1221
• Select Excerpts
  • Three Sisters Eruptive History
• Select Graphics

  [Graphic,18K,InlineGIF]
  Eruptive History of Three Sisters region during past 15,000 years
  -- Modified from: Scott, et.al., 2001, USGS Open-File Report 99-237

• Other Menus of Interest
  • Three Sisters Menu -- CVO Menu
  • Three Sisters Hazards Menu -- CVO Menu
  • Hazards Assessment Reports and Maps Menu -- CVO Menu