Volcanoes of east-central Baja California

In the center of Baja California, volcanic activity is found mostly near the San Ignacio area.

[4] The dark-colored rocks that make up the outer rim of La Reforma formed from very fluid lava.

[5] The Tres Vírgenes, a line of three connected volcanoes, are west of La Reforma Caldera.

El Viejo is the oldest and lowest peak, and La Vírgen is the youngest and tallest of the three.

Unlike other volcanoes in Baja California, the Tres Vírgenes are stratovolcanoes, consisting of alternate layers of ash and lava.

[citation needed] As recently as 6,500 years ago, La Vírgen experienced a Plinian eruption – a large and explosive event that creates a column of volcanic rock fragments and gas that reaches into the stratosphere.

[citation needed] In later stages of the eruption, pyroclastic flows (pinkish rocks) and lahars (mudflows, grayish rocks) from El Azufre Volcano paved the plain to the north all the way to the Gulf of California.