Cinder cone
Also called: Scoria cone · Topic: Interior of the Earth: Earthquakes, Volcanoes and the Layered Earth · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Interior of the Earth"
Meaning
A cinder cone is a small, steep, cone-shaped volcanic hill. It forms when lava shoots up from the vent (the opening) like a fountain. The lava breaks into small pieces called cinders, which cool in the air. They fall back and pile up around the vent. Because loose cinders cannot stand at a gentle slope, the cone has steep sides. Cinder cones can also form on the slopes of shield volcanoes when water gets into the vent and the eruption turns explosive.
Example
Parícutin in Mexico is a famous cinder cone. It began erupting in a farmer's field in 1943 and built a steep cone of cinders around its vent.
Don't confuse with
- Shield volcano: much larger, with broad, gentle slopes built from fluid basalt lava, as in Hawaii. A cinder cone is small and steep.
- Composite volcano: also steep, but large, and built of alternating layers of lava and pyroclastic material, like Mount Fuji.
Related concepts
- Volcano
- Magma
- Lava
- Pyroclastic material
- Active volcano
- Shield volcano
- Composite volcano
- Caldera
- Supervolcano
- Flood basalt province