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- The Sand Mountain Volcanic Field (also known as the Sand Mountain Field) is a volcanic field in the upper McKenzie River watershed, located in the United States in Oregon. Part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, it lies southwest of Mount Jefferson and northwest of Belknap Crater and Mount Washington. Its highest elevation is 5,463 feet (1,665 m). Active during the Holocene epoch, the Sand Mountain Field began erupting about 4,000 years ago. The field includes 23 basaltic and basaltic andesitic cinder cones and lava flows, for a total of 42 volcanic vents within two roughly north–south trending alignments. Its total dense-rock equivalent eruptive output is 0.22 to 0.29 cubic miles (0.92 to 1.21 km3), with subfeatures including a tephra field and a lava tube system. Future activity is possible, but according to the Volcano Hazards Program of the United States Geological Survey, the threat from the field itself is low. The field lies within the Willamette National Forest near Santiam Pass. It supports some forested areas, which grow well on lava flows with tephra that serves as suitable soil for stands of Douglas fir and western hemlock and less commonly western red cedar. The surroundings represent an area of geological interest, and scoria has been quarried from one of the field's volcanic cones for highway supplies. Nearby tourist destinations include a ski resort, Tamolitch Falls, and Clear Lake. (en)
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