Zircon U-Pb geochronology and trace element dataset from the Southern Rocky Mountain Volcanic Field, Colorado, USA

This contribution provides in-situ LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages and trace element determinations of zircons from dacitic to rhyolitic lavas, ignimbrites and intrusions in the Southern Rocky Mountain Volcanic Field (SRMVF) in Colorado, USA. The data record a period of intense magmatic activity in the Oligocene-early Miocene (∼37–22 Ma) which gave rise to some of the largest explosive ignimbrites in the geological record (e.g. the Fish Canyon Tuff). Age data are drift corrected, but not corrected for radiation dosage or Th disequilibrium, in order to allow users to apply their own algorithms. Xenocrysts (much older crystals up to 2 Ga from the Proterozoic basement) are included in this record.