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Exploring the Distribution and Occurrence of Cenozoic Volcanic Geoheritages in the Khorat Plateau, Thailand

Vimoltip Singtuen

Vimoltip Singtuen

Department of Geotechnology, Faculty of Technology, Khon Kaen UniversityKhon Kaen, Thailand
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Singtuen, Vimoltip
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Supakit Srisaphon

Supakit Srisaphon

Department of Geotechnology, Faculty of Technology, Khon Kaen UniversityKhon Kaen, Thailand
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Jul 16, 2025
Exploring the Distribution and Occurrence of Cenozoic Volcanic Geoheritages in the Khorat Plateau, Thailand's Cover Image
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Published Online: Jul 16, 2025
Received: Mar 01, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/quageo-2025-0031
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© 2025 Vimoltip Singtuen et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1.

Map of Cenozoic basalt distribution in Thailand (Geological data from Department of Mineral Resources, 2013), includes several key volcanoes indicated by numbered symbols: 1 = Khao Kradong, 2 = Khao Phra Angkhan, 3 = Khao Phanom Rung, 4 = Khao Plai Bat, 5 = Khao Phanom Sawai and 6 = Phu Fai. Basemap data sources: Esri, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), United States Geological Survey (USGS), NOSTRA (Thailand), HERE Technologies, Garmin, Foursquare, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and meteorological data from NASA (MET/NASA).
Map of Cenozoic basalt distribution in Thailand (Geological data from Department of Mineral Resources, 2013), includes several key volcanoes indicated by numbered symbols: 1 = Khao Kradong, 2 = Khao Phra Angkhan, 3 = Khao Phanom Rung, 4 = Khao Plai Bat, 5 = Khao Phanom Sawai and 6 = Phu Fai. Basemap data sources: Esri, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), United States Geological Survey (USGS), NOSTRA (Thailand), HERE Technologies, Garmin, Foursquare, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and meteorological data from NASA (MET/NASA).

Fig. 2.

Geologic map of the southern Khorat Plateau of Thailand (Geological data from the Department of Mineral Resources 2013), includes several key volcanoes indicated by numbered symbols: 1 = Khao Kradong, 2 = Khao Phra Angkhan, 3 = Khao Phanom Rung, 4 = Khao Plai Bat, 5 = Khao Phanom Sawai and 6 = Phu Fai.
Geologic map of the southern Khorat Plateau of Thailand (Geological data from the Department of Mineral Resources 2013), includes several key volcanoes indicated by numbered symbols: 1 = Khao Kradong, 2 = Khao Phra Angkhan, 3 = Khao Phanom Rung, 4 = Khao Plai Bat, 5 = Khao Phanom Sawai and 6 = Phu Fai.

Fig. 3.

Field observation of Cenozoic volcanoes in the southern Khorat Plateau: A – the crater of Khao Kradong (14°56'19.3
Field observation of Cenozoic volcanoes in the southern Khorat Plateau: A – the crater of Khao Kradong (14°56'19.3"N 103°05'36.8"E), B – the gentle slope of Khao Phanom Rung (14°31'53.6"N 102°56'21.8"E), C – the depositional section of a caldera rim of Khao Phra Angkhan (14°31'54.6"N 102°49'48.2"E), D – sandstone xenoliths in Cenozoic basalts (14°40'01.7"N 104°30'05.5"E), E – Pahoehoe and Aa at the top of Khao Phanom Sawai (14°45'32.6"N 103°21'56.4"E), F – columnar and platy basalts near Khao Phanom Sawai (14°45'35.0"N 103°23'40.7"E), G – in situ float rocks of diabase at the Phu Fai (14°38'21.3"N 104°29'36.5"E), and H – columnar and platy basalts near Phu Fai (14°38'31.0"N 104°29'51.4"E).

Fig. 4.

Photomicrographs of Cenozoic basalts in the southern Khorat Plateau. Buriram Province: A – altered phenocryst as iddingsite in olivine basalt porphyry, B – olivine basalt porphyry, C – olivine and plagioclase phenocryst present trachytic texture of olivine basalt. Surin Province: D – mafic volcanic glasses in the groundmass of olivine basalt, E – altered phenocryst as iddingsite in olivine basalt porphyry and F – olivine basalt porphyry present a trachytic texture. Sisaket Province: G – very fine-grained olivine basalt porphyry, H – nepheline in the groundmass of alkaline basalt and I – the intergrowth of plagioclase and clinopyroxene as ophitic/subophitic texture of diabase at Phu Fai. Cpx – clinopyroxene, Idd – iddingsite, Nep – nepheline, Ol – olivine, Opq – opaque minerals, Pl – plagioclase.
Photomicrographs of Cenozoic basalts in the southern Khorat Plateau. Buriram Province: A – altered phenocryst as iddingsite in olivine basalt porphyry, B – olivine basalt porphyry, C – olivine and plagioclase phenocryst present trachytic texture of olivine basalt. Surin Province: D – mafic volcanic glasses in the groundmass of olivine basalt, E – altered phenocryst as iddingsite in olivine basalt porphyry and F – olivine basalt porphyry present a trachytic texture. Sisaket Province: G – very fine-grained olivine basalt porphyry, H – nepheline in the groundmass of alkaline basalt and I – the intergrowth of plagioclase and clinopyroxene as ophitic/subophitic texture of diabase at Phu Fai. Cpx – clinopyroxene, Idd – iddingsite, Nep – nepheline, Ol – olivine, Opq – opaque minerals, Pl – plagioclase.

Fig. 5.

Geochemical classification of Cenozoic basalts in the southern Khorat Plateau: A – Total Alkali-Silica (TAS) diagram presents the ratio of SiO2 vs. Total alkalines (Na2O + K2O), diagram modified from Le Bas et al. (1986). B – plotted of Nb/Y vs. Zr/Ti for name classification of volcanic rocks (diagram modified from Winchester and Floyd (1997)) and C – Nb–Zr–Y tectonic discrimination diagram (diagram modified from Pearce and Cann (1973)).
Geochemical classification of Cenozoic basalts in the southern Khorat Plateau: A – Total Alkali-Silica (TAS) diagram presents the ratio of SiO2 vs. Total alkalines (Na2O + K2O), diagram modified from Le Bas et al. (1986). B – plotted of Nb/Y vs. Zr/Ti for name classification of volcanic rocks (diagram modified from Winchester and Floyd (1997)) and C – Nb–Zr–Y tectonic discrimination diagram (diagram modified from Pearce and Cann (1973)).

Fig. 6.

Geomorphological map of the southern Khorat Plateau, combined with GIS techniques, includes several key volcanoes indicated by numbered symbols: 1 = Khao Kradong, 2 = Khao Phra Angkhan, 3 = Khao Phanom Rung, 4 = Khao Plai Bat, 5 = Khao Phanom Sawai and 6 = Phu Fai. A digital elevation model (DEM) and 20-meter interval contour lines (source: www.asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov) were analyzed using geographic information system (GIS) software (ArcGIS, developed by Esri, Redlands, CA, USA).
Geomorphological map of the southern Khorat Plateau, combined with GIS techniques, includes several key volcanoes indicated by numbered symbols: 1 = Khao Kradong, 2 = Khao Phra Angkhan, 3 = Khao Phanom Rung, 4 = Khao Plai Bat, 5 = Khao Phanom Sawai and 6 = Phu Fai. A digital elevation model (DEM) and 20-meter interval contour lines (source: www.asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov) were analyzed using geographic information system (GIS) software (ArcGIS, developed by Esri, Redlands, CA, USA).

Fig. 7.

Geomorphological characteristics of Cenozoic volcanoes in the southern Khorat Plateau.
Geomorphological characteristics of Cenozoic volcanoes in the southern Khorat Plateau.

Fig. 8.

Simplified model of historical geological events of the southern Khorat Plateau.
Simplified model of historical geological events of the southern Khorat Plateau.

Fig. 9.

Simplified Structural Model of Cenozoic volcanoes in the Southern Khorat Plateau: Notable Khao Phra Angkhan in Buriram Province. The satellite image was generated by Google Earth Pro®.
Simplified Structural Model of Cenozoic volcanoes in the Southern Khorat Plateau: Notable Khao Phra Angkhan in Buriram Province. The satellite image was generated by Google Earth Pro®.

Fig. 10.

Satellite image showing the locations of the studied volcanic geoheritage sites in Thailand, along with other significant volcanic heritage sites in Southeast Asia exhibiting similar geological features. The image was generated using Google Earth Pro®.
Satellite image showing the locations of the studied volcanic geoheritage sites in Thailand, along with other significant volcanic heritage sites in Southeast Asia exhibiting similar geological features. The image was generated using Google Earth Pro®.

Geomorphological and geochemical data of volcanoes in the southern part of the Khorat Plateau_

Group Volcano name Average slope SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MgO CaO LOI*
[%] [wt.%]
1 Khao Phanom Sawai 4.52 51.07 14.57 14.60 2.69 8.62 1.25
Khao Kradong 6.10 48.55 14.36 10.81 6.00 9.28 1.25
2 Khao Plai Bat 7.95 52.04 14.91 10.93 5.50 6.98 0.34
Khao Phanom Rung 9.87 52.56 15.22 9.82 3.46 6.27 1.54
3 Khao Phra Angkhan 15.00 55.96 19.55 12.05 1.30 4.63 0.78
Phu Fai 17.15 50.36 19.68 6.27 5.56 7.12 1.76
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Geosciences, Geography
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