Cinder Cone

Witness the complete development of an undersea cinder cone near the Mariana IslandsSee all videos for this article

cinder cone, also called ash cone, deposit around a volcanic vent, formed by pyroclastic rock fragments (formed by volcanic or igneous action), or cinders, which accumulate and gradually build a conical hill with a bowl-shaped crater at the top. Cinder cones develop from explosive eruptions of mafic (heavy, dark ferromagnesian) and intermediate lavas and are often found along the flanks of shield volcanoes. The outside of the cone is often inclined at about 30°, the angle of repose (the slope at which the loose cinder can stand in equilibrium). Cinder cones may be only a few tens of feet high, or they may grow to a height of several hundred metres (several thousand feet), like that of Paricutín in Mexico. Lava flows may break out of or breach the cone, or they may flow from under the cone through tunnels. Cinder cones are numerous in nearly all volcanic districts. Although they are composed of loose or only moderately consolidated cinder, many of them are surprisingly enduring features of the landscape because rain falling on them sinks into the highly permeable cinder instead of running off down their slopes to erode them.