Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during the eruption. Types of volcanic cones include stratocones, spatter cones, tuff cones, and cinder cones.
Mayon in the Philippines has a symmetrical volcanic cone.
Osorno volcano in Chile is an example of a well-developed stratocone.
Puʻu ʻŌʻō, a cinder-and-spatter cone on Kīlauea, Hawaiʻi
Koko Crater is a tuff cone that is part of the Honolulu Volcanic Series.
A cinder cone is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or lava fountains from a single, typically cylindrical, vent. As the gas-charged lava is blown violently into the air, it breaks into small fragments that solidify and fall as either cinders, clinkers, or scoria around the vent to form a cone that often is symmetrical; with slopes between 30 and 40°; and a nearly circular ground plan. Most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit.
Cross-section diagram of a cinder cone or scoria cone
Cinders at a cinder cone in San Bernardino Valley, Arizona
SP Crater, an extinct cinder cone in Arizona
Sunset Crater, a young monogenetic cinder cone in Arizona that began forming around the year 1075 CE