Volcano Mountain is a

cinder cone A cinder cone (or scoria 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 o ...

in central

Yukon Territory Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, Canada, located a short distance north of

Fort Selkirk Fort Selkirk is a former trading post on the Yukon River at the confluence of the Pelly River in Canada's Yukon. For many years it was home to the Selkirk First Nation (Northern Tutchone). History Archaeological evidence shows that the site has ...

, near the confluence of the Pelly and

Yukon River The Yukon River (Gwichʼin language, Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq language, Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag language, Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän language, Hän: ''Tth'echù' ...

s. Volcano Mountain is called Nelrúna in the

Northern Tutchone The Northern Tutchone are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living mainly in the central Yukon in Canada. Language and culture The Northern Tutchone language, originally spoken by the Northern Tutchone p ...

language.

Geology

Volcano Mountain is the youngest volcano in the Fort Selkirk Volcanic Field and one of the youngest in the northern section of the

Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province The Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province (NCVP), formerly known as the Stikine Volcanic Belt, is a geologic province defined by the occurrence of Miocene to Holocene volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest of North America. This belt of volcanoes ex ...

. The lava at Volcano Mountain is

olivine nephelinite Nephelinite is a fine-grained or aphanitic igneous rock made up almost entirely of nepheline and clinopyroxene (variety augite). If olivine is present, the rock may be classified as an olivine nephelinite. Nephelinite is dark in color and may res ...

, which is an uncommon type of lava. This type of lava is believed to have come from much deeper inside the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

than

basaltic Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

lava.

Volcanic hazards

Future eruptions from Volcano Mountain would probably be lava flows, since there is a lack of

pyroclastic Pyroclastic rocks (derived from the el, πῦρ, links=no, meaning fire; and , meaning broken) are clastic rocks composed of rock fragments produced and ejected by explosive volcanic eruptions. The individual rock fragments are known as pyroc ...

material. The main hazards from Volcano Mountain are

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s started by the lava flows and poisonous gases. Older volcanic deposits south of Volcano Mountain indicate that lava flows may have once partly blocked or at least altered the course of the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and

Pelly River The Pelly River (Ts'ekínyäk Chú) is a river in Canada, and is a headstream of the Yukon River. The river originates west of the Mackenzie Mountains and flows long through the south central Yukon. The Pelly has two main tributaries, the Ros ...

s. Any future activity in this area could disrupt the course of both of these major rivers and could have a serious impact on people living or working downstream.

External links

Natural Resources Canada

Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes: Volcano Mountain
{{Northern Cordilleran volcanoes One-thousanders of Yukon Cinder cones of Canada Volcanoes of Yukon Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province Polygenetic cinder cones

Geology

Volcanic hazards

See also

External links