Type
Point of Interest
Location
41.7432°N 121.5451°W
Schonchin Butte is one of dozens of cinder cones across the Medicine Lake shield volcano, steep piles built when a vent flung frothy lava into the air, later overrun by thicker lava flows.
Details
- Type
- Point of Interest
- Accessibility
- Limited accessibility
How cinder cones form
Cinder cones build up where pressurized lava carrying many dissolved gases erupts violently, throwing fragments that fall back as loose rock around the vent. The result is a steep, conical pile. They differ from spatter cones, which form from gentler eruptions where sticky, semimolten lava lands and welds into lumpy, chimney-like mounds. Both types are scattered across the monument, part of the Medicine Lake shield volcano, the largest volcano by volume in the Cascade Range.