Cinder Cone Facts: Know All About The Active Volcanoes

Volcanoes have always interested humans, they are responsible for a number of climatic changes and very so often they also cause the phenomenon known as the blue moon.

We have been studying volcanoes for a long time now and in order to study them in a more organized fashion, they are divided into certain categories. One such category of volcanoes is the cinder cone volcanoes.

We know a lot about volcanoes and how they are made, but when we go to the very basic level (that is the formation of a volcano) there are still so many things not known to us. A volcano in the most general term is simply a mountain. The only difference is, at the bottom of it, there is a molten pool of lava. Mountains very often don't have that and hence there is no question of eruption there. Volcanoes are just mountains which are situated on the top of a molten rock matter, which can also be called lava. Generally, volcanoes don't erupt just randomly. It takes time and pressure for the volcano to omit the molten lava.

We have both active and nonactive volcanoes on earth. Although on surface-level both these are volcanoes, they are very different from one another. An active volcano can be said to be a tragedy waiting to happen. It can take 10 years or a century for it to burst out and omit lava. Whereas volcanic eruptions are not supposed to happen when it comes to inactive volcanoes. Many people still choose to live near active volcanoes, the reason being there is so much these larger volcanoes offer. An active volcano present on the earth's surface provides the richest soil that can be found on earth for farming. The volcanic ash is wonderful for farming and growing even the most difficult crops. These volcanoes get their lava from the earth's crust. Once the lava explodes during any explosive eruptions, the aftermath of it leaves us with many valuable stones. There are some stones that can only be obtained from volcanoes and they are very expensive as well.

What is a cinder cone?

Volcanic ash might be good for crops but it's definitely not good for humans once inhaled. Let's explore some more cinder cone facts.

• Cinder cone volcanoes are also known as scoria cone.
• A cinder cone volcano is just a usual volcanic cone that has small to rough particles composed over it, which are usually hardened lava.
• Cinder cone eruptions are generally considered very deadly, due to the shape of cinder cones the eruptions that happen go straight up in the sky because of the gas bubbles. These eruptions then fall on earth a few meters away from the cinder cone eruption.
• What many people don't know is the small cinder cone volcanoes are generally formed on volcanoes that already exist.
• When a volcano erupts, the lava from it quickly takes the space surrounding the cone of the volcano and over time, it forms a cone-shaped volcano which is famously called the cinder cone volcano.
• Cinder cone volcanoes are sometimes also formed on composite volcanoes.
• A cinder cone volcano, as the name suggests, has a cone shape opening. They are some of the most common kinds of volcanoes.
• One interesting fact about cinder cone volcanoes is that as cinder cone eruption takes place, they grow new lava vents on the already existing volcanic terrains.
• As these cone-shaped volcanoes are made by hardened lava, this lava is generally not hard enough. Thus when any eruptions happen in the future, the lava often leaks from the side or the base of the cone.
• Cinder cone volcanoes are generally much safer than other kinds of volcanoes.
• Due to the shape of this cinder cone volcano, any eruption that happens, pushes the lava upwards, which helps to not directly spread the lava to the land nearby and slowly suspends it. Due to this, cinder cone volcanoes are considered safer than other kinds of volcanoes.
• Many people believe that it's safer to watch a cinder cone volcanic eruption from a safe distance.
• Cinder cone volcanoes are generally also called the smallest volcanoes on the planet, as they are simply formed with the help of harder lava accumulated in a cone-shaped structure.
• The name of cinder cones speaks a lot about their shape. They got their famous name for their shape, as they come out to be cone-shaped when hardened.
• One more reason why these volcanoes are known as cinder cones is that they are made of rock composite cinder.
• Like any other volcano, a cinder cone generally erupts when an adequate amount of pressure is built up in its central vent.

The Composition Of Cinder Cone

Rock fragments and other kind of small fragments together work in order to form a cone-shaped opening and a structure which we call the cinder cones. Let's discover more about the composition of a cinder-cone volcano.

• In cinder cones, generally due to eruptions, rock and volcanic matter accumulates over the top of other volcanic matter.
• Matters such as the pumice gets piled one over the other.
• You can find a cinder cone volcano, generally near other volcanoes which are larger in size.
• There are generally three main categories of volcanoes, which helps us to study them better.
• The most common kind of volcanoes are composite volcanoes, after which comes the shield volcanoes and then supervolcanoes.
• Composite volcanoes are the general volcanoes. They are very tall and large and when their lava domes explode, it's quite destructive.
• The shield volcano on the other hand have relatively gentle and softened mound shapes, which are a result of their past eruptions.
• Cinder cones are different from both shield volcanoes and composite volcanoes, they are smaller and are formed because of eruptions over an already existing volcano.
• The cinder cones are generally not very large.
• The average height of a cinder cone volcano is 600-900 ft (200-300 m).
• Cinder cone eruptions usually don't cause lava plateaus, these are formed by bigger volcanoes.
• When any kind of volcano erupts, the internal structure of the volcano is affected greatly.
• During an eruption, the volcano is generally under extreme pressure due to the formation of a bubble in it. However, after omitting lava, the volcano forms a caldera at the earth's crust.
• The caldera formed by the volcano after the eruption is simply also known as a large pressure at the base of the volcano.
• After the cinder cones, one thing is sure, not all volcanoes are the same in size.
• Volcanoes have different shapes and sizes- shield volcanoes and cinder cones are very different in shape and size, and the reason for this is their composition.
• A lot about their shape and size can be known from the lava domes they have formed in the past, or simply put the lava they emitted in the earlier eruptions.
• One more important factor when it comes to the shape and size of a volcano is the type of lava it emitted. Not all lava is the same kind.
• The most crucial element which is helping researchers all across the globe to find out the size of the volcano is the viscosity of the lava which is inside it.
• The volcanoes which are cool, have more viscosity.
• The volcanoes which are active and thus hot, have a relatively low viscosity.
• Different kinds of lava also determine the shape of the volcanoes, as not all lavas are the same.
• Lava is generally formed in the earth's crust and it's nothing but molten rock.
• If lava has more silica content, the viscosity of it will be more, the volcano would be bigger.
• If the lava is mafic (less silica content), the viscosity is less and the volcano will be smaller.
• Normally a cinder cone is formed by an eruption, this eruption episode can last for days and weeks and that forms a cinder cone. The current cinder cone volcano will last till the time another episode happens and then a new cinder cone will be formed.
• The main feature of a cinder cone is not its internal structure but the very shape of the volcano. Every cinder cone has a cone-shaped top.
• Igneous rocks make cinder cones, and they are generally symmetric.
• In a cinder cone, the lava generally finds its way out from the base of the main vent in the upward direction.
• Another important feature of cinder cone volcanoes is these types of volcanoes take months or years to form from the date of the last eruption.
• One of the most famous kinds of shield volcanoes is the Mauna Loa from Hawaii.
• There are different kinds of volcanoes on the Raton Clayton volcanic field and the area is indeed a matter of interest for scientists.

Location Of Cinder Cone Volcanoes

Cinder cones are formed on an already existing volcano and generally they are found near other volcanoes.

• The cinder cones generally have very steep slopes. This is because of the volcanic ash due to the magma.
• The youngest volcanic cone is present on the northern side of the Lassen volcanic park. This park is indeed a place of amazement for people who are interested in volcanoes.
• You can find a cinder cone on the top of say, the entrance of shield volcanoes as well.
• It's widely known that volcanoes, also known as supervolcanoes also get composition due to eruptions which over time is known as cinder cone volcanoes.
• The famous Mauna Loa in Hawaii has around 100 cinder cones located at its flakes.
• There are different names for cinder cones in different locations, some people also call them scoria cones or spatter cones.

The Formation And Magma Of Different Types Of Cinder Cone

A number of volcanic cones are found near the famous crater lake. They are indeed different from other volcanoes around as they are formed from lava.

• After an eruption, half-burned magma, rock deposits, and ash come together to form a cylindrical opening, which is referred to as cinder cones.
• Cinder cones are formed by a special kind of lava or magma. In order to form cinder cones, the basaltic composition of lava is required.
• Lava which has good iron and magnesium content is ideal for these kinds of volcano.
• The magma from the dark rocks are generally responsible for forming cinder cones are they are low in minerals such as sodium but have an abundance of magnesium.
• Another famous kind of magma required for this formation is the andesitc magma.
• The andesitic magma has all the required minerals to form the right amount of hardness across the volcano.
• Cinder cones are very common all across the world. The reason is that they simply require magma which is rich in silicon and most magmas are rich in silicon.
• Andesitic magma is more preferred and more likely to form cinder cones compared to the general basaltic magma.