What is another name for a cinder cone volcano?

Cinder Cone Volcanoes: What’s in a Name? (The “Other” Name, That Is)

Okay, so you know those classic, cone-shaped hills with a crater at the top? The ones that look like something straight out of a cartoon volcano scene? Those are cinder cone volcanoes. But here’s a little secret: they often go by another name too: scoria cones. Yep, those two terms are pretty much used interchangeably.

Think of cinder cones (or scoria cones, if you prefer) as the simplest, most common type of volcano out there. They’re essentially piles of volcanic debris – ash, cinders, and scoria – that have built up around a vent. Imagine a really messy volcano burping up a bunch of lava. When that lava’s all bubbly and gas-charged, it explodes into the air. That explosion turns the lava into little bits that cool and harden as they fall back down, creating the cone shape we know and love.

Now, about those “cinders” and “scoria”… In the US, people often use “cinder” to describe those fist-sized (or smaller) chunks of scoria. Scoria itself is just a fancy word for those lightweight, bubbly bits of lava that get shot out during an eruption. They’re full of holes, like volcanic Swiss cheese!

These volcanoes aren’t usually giants. Most are only a few hundred meters tall, tops. But they’re pretty steep, with sides that can reach a crazy 30 to 40-degree angle. That’s because all those loose bits of rock just pile up near the vent. And almost all of them have that classic bowl-shaped crater at the summit.

Cinder cones are usually born from explosive eruptions, the kind that happens when magma is packed with gas. Think of it like shaking up a soda bottle. As the magma rises, the pressure drops, and all those dissolved gases (like water vapor and carbon dioxide) start bubbling out. All those bubbles cause the magma to burst apart, sending those little pieces of lava flying.

Even though cinder cones can be a bit explosive, they’re generally not as dangerous as those massive stratovolcanoes you hear about. The main things to watch out for are lava flows and flying rocks.

Interestingly, many cinder cones are “one and done” volcanoes. They form during a single, short eruption that might only last a few weeks or months. Of course, some can keep going for years, even decades! But some “ancient” cinder cones have shown evidence of soil formation in between flows, meaning that eruptions were separated by thousands of years.

Need some examples? Parícutin in Mexico is a classic. It literally popped up in a cornfield back in the 1940s and kept growing for nine years! Then there’s Sunset Crater in Arizona, which is another beauty. Over in Iceland, they call cinder cones “Eldborgs,” which is pretty cool. You’ll often find them hanging out on the sides of bigger volcanoes, like Mauna Kea in Hawaii, which has over 100 of these little cones on its flanks. Sometimes, they’re even found inside calderas or in huge volcanic fields with hundreds of other cinder cones. They’re everywhere, once you start looking!