Vol*ca"no (?), n.; pl. Volcanoes (#). [It. volcano, vulcano, fr. L. Vulcanus Vulkan, the god of fire. See Vulkan.] Geol.
A mountain or hill, usually more or less conical in form, from which lava, cinders, steam, sulphur gases, and the like, are ejected; -- often popularly called a burning mountain.
⇒ Volcanoes include many of the most conspicuous and lofty mountains of the earth, as Mt. Vesuvius in Italy (4,000 ft. high), Mt. Loa in Hawaii (14,000 ft.), Cotopaxi in South America (nearly 20,000 ft.), which are examples of active volcanoes. The crater of a volcano is usually a pit-shaped cavity, often of great size. The summit crater of Mt. Loa has a maximum length of 13,000 ft., and a depth of nearly 800 feet. Beside the chief crater, a volcano may have a number of subordinate craters.
© Webster 1913.