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Cinder cones are small cones
composed of ... cinders. Cinders are
small fragments of lava around an
inch or so across. They are
explosively ejected during
eruptions, and are often accompanied
by lava flows that may spread out
for several miles around the cone.
Eruptions can last a few months to
years, but tend to be one-time
events. |
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Red Hill
Cinder Cone,
in Coso Volcanic field, east of the
Sierra Nevada of California |
Red Hill is
a prominent sight from Highway 395.
It is Pleistocene having erupted
between 10,000 and 130,000 years ago |
Red Hill
from the Fossil Falls parking lot.
An ice age river flowed across the
lava flow here. |
Coso
Volcanic Field at the south end of
Owens Valley in California. The
youngest cones are 40,000 years old. |
Coso
Volcanic Field cinder cone. The
field is a geothermal resource. |
Close up on
cone in Coso Volcanic Field |
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| Auckland,
New Zealand is a large city, built
on 50+ cinder cones. This is Mt.
Eden |
Urban cinder
cone: Auckland, New Zealand. The
cones are between 600 and 150,000
years old |
Crater of
Mt. Eden, Auckland, New Zealand,
about 15,000 years old |
Another view
of the crater of Mt. Eden, Auckland,
New Zealand |
Summit of
Mt. Eden in Auckland, New Zealand |
Auckland
city center from summit of Mt. Eden |
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| Sunset
Crater, AZ, part of the San
Francisco Peaks Volcanic Field |
Sunset
Crater is one of the youngest
volcanic features in Arizona,
erupting between 1040 and 1100 AD |
Sunset
Crater is protected as a National
Monument |
Ancestral
Pueblo people witnessed the
eruptions that formed the cinder
cone. Some of their villages were
buried in ash and lava |
Interior of
a quarried cinder cone near
Williams, Arizona, showing cinder
layer and dikes |
Quarried
cinder cone near Williams, AZ. This
is part of the San Francisco Peaks
Volcanic Field |
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| Cinder cone
in Mojave National Preserve near
Kelbaker Road |
Cinder cone
in Mojave National Preserve. The odd
notch in the rim was related to
mining claims |
Cinder
Butte and Callahan flow at Lava Beds
National Monument |
Barren slope
of Cinder Butte at Lava Beds
National Monument. Cone is around
900-1000 years old |
Cinder cone
field as seen from Cinder Butte at
Lava Beds National Monument |
Interior of
a'a flow at Cinder Butte at Lava
Beds National Monument |
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| Interior of
a'a flow at Cinder Butte at Lava
Beds National Monument |
Interior of
a'a flow at Cinder Butte at Lava
Beds National Monument |
Barren
slope of Cinder Butte, a youthful
cinder cone at Lava Beds National
Monument |
Fleener
Chimneys at Lava Beds. These are
spatter cones rather than cinder
cones |
Fleener
Chimneys at Lava Beds. These are
spatter cones rather than cinder
cones |
Cinder cone
field from Schonchin Butte at Lava
Beds National Monument |
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| Cinder Butte
and Callahan flow from Schonchin
Butte at Lava Beds |
Schonchin
Butte and clearing storm at Lava
Beds |
Schonchin
Butte at Lava Beds (By Susan) |
Schonchin
Butte at Lava Beds National
Monument |
High Hole
Crater on south flank of Medicine
Lake Highland in California |
Wizard
Island, an andesite cinder cone in
Crater Lake |
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Cinder Cones in Hawaii:
The islands of the Hawaiian chain
are one of the best places in the
world to observe cinder cones
forming and to see the relative
changes that occur as they start to
erode. The youngest cinder cone
shown here is Pu'u Pau'i at Kilauea,
which erupted in 1959. The oldest,
Diamond Head and Koko Head on Oahu
are around 150,000 years old. |
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| Cinder cone
in summit valley of Haleakala, Maui |
Cinder cone
in summit valley of Haleakala, Maui |
Cinder
cones in summit valley of Haleakala,
Maui |
Cinder cone
at summit valley of Haleakala, Maui |
Cinder cones
in summit valley of Haleakala, Maui |
Cinder cones
in summit valley of Haleakala, Maui |
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| Close up of
Diamond Head, a tuff cone on the
island of Hawaii |
Diamond Head
from the Honolulu Zoo on the island
of Oahu |
Diamond
Head, a tuff cone (tuff particles
are finer than cinders) on the
island of Oahu |
Diamond Head
from the National Cemetery |
Diamond
Head, a tuff cone (tuff particles
are finer than cinders) |
Koko Crater,
a tuff cone, with ash layers.
Southeast shore of Oahu |
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| Koko Crater,
a tuff cone, with ash layers.
Southeast shore of Oahu |
Tuff layers
near Koko Head on the southeast
margin of Oahu, Hawaii |
Small
cinder cone on Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa
in distance, the Big Island of
Hawai'i |
Cinder cone
on Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa in the
distance. Big Island of Hawai'i |
Cinder cone
field on Mauna Kea, slope of Mauna
Loa in the distance. Big Island of
Hawai'i |
Two cinder
cones on Saddle Road near Mauna Kea
on the Big Island of Hawai'i |
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| Cinder cone
field on Mauna Kea, slope of Mauna
Loa in distance |
Cinder cone
field on Mauna Kea, slope of Mauna
Loa in distance |
Cinder cone
field on Mauna Kea, slope of Mauna
Loa in distance |
Pu'u Pau'i,
a cinder cone formed during the 1959
Kilauea Iki eruption |
Pu'u Pau'i,
a cinder cone formed during the 1959
Kilauea Iki eruption |
Pu'u Pau'i,
a cinder cone formed during the 1959
Kilauea Iki eruption |
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| Pu'u Pau'i,
from the floor of Kilauea Iki,
formed in a 1959 eruption. Big
Island of Hawai'i |
Pu'u Pau'i,
a cinder cone formed during the 1959
Kilauea Iki eruption |
Pu'u Pau'i,
a cinder cone formed during the 1959
Kilauea Iki eruption |
Papalokea
Beach near South Point on the Big
Island, a breached tuff cone |
The eroded
tuff cone at Papalokea Beach has
produced an olivine green sand
beach |
The green
sand beach is one of only two in
Hawai'i. They are very rare! |
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