Other older volcanoes nearby include the Upsal Hogback[10] basalt cone 7 miles northeast and Rattlesnake Hill[11] in Fallon.
Since the volcano's age was inferred to be younger than local Lake Lahontan sediments, that qualified as eruptive activity within the Holocene for inclusion on the list.
[12] The Soda Lake I & II geothermal energy plants came online in 1987 and 1991 respectively, with continuing development by multiple owners.
Additional water for irrigation was brought to Lahontan Reservoir from the Truckee River via a canal from Derby Dam.
[2][18] A 1978 paper on "Recent changes in the meromictic status of Big Soda Lake" reported the depth of the chemocline was first detected in 1933 as at 18 meters (59 ft).
It had fallen to 37.5 meters (123 ft) at the time of the paper, leading to speculation that the lake would fully mix and cease to be meromictic within a few decades.
[18] The chemocline was listed as at 35 meters (115 ft) depth in 1983 and 2015 papers, showing it had not continued to fall but remained stable around the level measured in the 1970s.
These tufa formations became subject of research interest because lake level increase constrains their age to a century, which is a geologically short period of time.