History Minutes: Newberry Volcano

Big Obsidian Flow, Newberry Crater // OrHi 55619

Newberry Volcano is a unique geological formation, both in terms of its size and its composition.  Located in Central Oregon, approximately twelve miles southeast of Bend, Newberry Crater is a central feature of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.  With a geologic history of some half million years, the volcano rises 3,600 feet, covering an area of more than 500 square miles and containing a volume of over 110 cubic miles. Over many millennia, the volcano erupted continuously, forming lava flows, cinder cones, fissures, and lakes.  Geologically still active, Newberry Volcano last erupted in 640 A.D.  Other well-known features include Paulina Peak, Paulina Lake, and East Lake, all of which lie within the Newberry Crater.

Newberry Crater has been a site of intermittent human occupation for at least 10,000 years.  Following the formation of the Big Obsidian Flow, local indigenous groups quarried obsidian from the flow to make stone tools and weapons.  Fur trappers such as Peter Skene Ogden and explorers such as John C. Fremont spent time in the area, and in 1855 Robert S. Williamson and Henry L. Abbot of the Pacific Railroad Survey expedition recorded the existence of Paulina Creek, which originates in Newberry Crater.  The caldera was later named Newberry Crater in honor of Dr. John Strong Newberry, the geologist with the expedition.

Newberry Volcano became a national historic monument in November 1990.