Adams
High Cascades Volcanic Arc, United States. This page separates the permanent volcano catalogue, historical eruption records, and selective weekly activity reports.
- Coordinates
- 46.21° N, 121.49° W
- Elevation
- 3,742 m
- Last recorded eruption
- 950 CE
- Historical eruption records
- 15
- Primary type
- Stratovolcano
- Evidence
- Eruption Dated
- GVP database
- 5.4.0
- Catalogue revision
- Revision 2
Volcano profile
- Volcanic landform
- Composite
- Tectonic setting
- Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
- Geologic epoch
- Holocene
- Major rock type
- Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
- Region
- North America Volcanic Regions
- Subregion
- High Cascades Volcanic Arc
Geological summary
The andesitic-dacitic Mount Adams stratovolcano is second in volume only to Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range. The volcanic complex is elongated along a NNW-SSE line, and includes more than 60 flank vents over 200 km2. Volcanism began about 940 ka, with three main cone-building stages occurring at about 500, 450, and 30 ka. It was active throughout the Holocene, producing two dozen minor explosive eruptions from summit and flank vents. Six Holocene lava flows are located on the flanks between 2,100 and 2,600 m elevation. The most voluminous Holocene lava flows, some of which traveled 10 km or more, were emplaced between about 7,000 and 4,000 years ago. The latest eruption about 1,000 years ago produced a minor tephra layer and possibly a small lava flow down the E flank.
Separate activity dataset
Weekly volcanic activity reports
Smithsonian/USGS weekly reports are selective and preliminary. They are not a comprehensive list of all eruptions or volcanic activity.
No weekly report appears on this page. Absence from the weekly report does not establish an absence of volcanic activity.
Historical catalogue records
Eruption history
Dates can be approximate, incomplete, or BCE. These are historical catalogue observations, not a statement about present activity.
| Start | End | Activity | Confirmation | VEI | Evidence | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? 950 CE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionEast flank? | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20517Database 5.4.0 |
| ? 200 CE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20516Database 5.4.0 |
| ? 301 BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20515Database 5.4.0 |
| ? 401 BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20514Database 5.4.0 |
| 551 ±1000 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20513Database 5.4.0 |
| > 1851 BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionSSE flank (2100 m) | Confirmed | ?1 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20512Database 5.4.0 |
| 2651 ±300 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20511Database 5.4.0 |
| 2951 ±100 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionSSE flank (2600 m) | Confirmed | ?1 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20510Database 5.4.0 |
| 3251 ±300 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20509Database 5.4.0 |
| ? 3551 BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20508Database 5.4.0 |
| 3801 ±1950 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionNNE flank (2100-2250 m) | Confirmed | ?1 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20507Database 5.4.0 |
| 4051 ±500 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionUpper SW flank? | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20506Database 5.4.0 |
| ? 4551 BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionNW flank (2200-2400 m) | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20505Database 5.4.0 |
| 5151 ±500 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20504Database 5.4.0 |
| 7051 ±1000 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 20503Database 5.4.0 |
Source and attribution
Source: Data: Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program, Volcanoes of the World.
View the original Smithsonian GVP recordGlobal Volcanism Program, 2026. Volcanoes of the World 5.4.0.
The GVP database is scientific documentation that changes as evidence is reviewed. Historical dates may be approximate or uncertain. This platform is not an official emergency-warning service.
Read the GVP terms of useData freshness
- Source updated
- Not supplied
- Retrieved
- 11 Oct 2026, 13:07 UTC
- GVP database version
- 5.4.0
- Catalogue revision
- 2
Source-update and retrieval times describe this catalogue record. Each weekly report carries its own publication date and preliminary status.