Managing geoheritage and mining heritage in silicic volcanic provinces: Comparative lessons from the Mogollon–Datil and San Juan fields, western United States of America

Large silicic volcanic provinces preserve some of the most dramatic episodes in Earth history, including vast ignimbrite sheets, caldera complexes, and resurgent structures that record the tempo and magnitude of crustal magmatism. In the western United States, two volcanic fields, the San Juan of Colorado and the Mogollon–Datil of New Mexico, are among the largest preserved expressions of the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up. Together, they record >20,000 km 3 of silicic volcanism between ~40 Ma and 18 Ma, including the Fish Canyon Tuff, one of the largest known explosive eruptions on Earth. These landscapes also host extensive mining districts whose ore systems are genetically linked to the same magmatic–hydrothermal processes that produced the volcanic landforms. As a result, managers face a recurrent coexistence challenge: how to protect volcanic geoheritage while interpreting mining and industrial heritage and addressing legacy impacts. This paper is a narrative literature review that synthesizes volcanology, ore-deposit science, geoheritage/geoconservation practice, protected-area governance, and mining/industrial heritage literature. The synthesis produces three management outputs: (i) a coexistence template organizes core management functions to illustrate management that emphasizes the coexistence of geoheritage and mining heritage; (ii) a description of how geoheritage can be unintentionally under-managed in protected areas not established for geologic values; and (iii) an indication of how the template can be adapted elsewhere. We apply the framework comparatively to the San Juan and Mogollon–Datil fields, highlighting internationally significant volcanic attributes, mining heritage dimensions, shared pressures, and practical management implications. Recognition pathways are discussed in terms of strengthening geoheritage within existing protected-area tools, with longer-term options (e.g., geological protection under existing designations, or through international designations) presented as potential pathways requiring standard steps such as boundary definition, comparative context, and governance arrangements.