What Are Some Examples of Extinct Volcanoes?

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Some examples of extinct volcanoes include Aconcagua in Argentina, Mount Kenya in Kenya, Mount Ashitaka in Japan and Mount Buninyong in Australia. Extinct volcanoes have been inactive for a long period of time and are considered unlikely to erupt again.

Whether a volcano is extinct or dormant might be difficult to establish, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists might classify a volcano as dormant instead of extinct, even though it hasn’t erupted in tens of thousands of years. This is related to the long lifespans of volcanoes, which allow for the possibility of a volcano erupting every several tens of thousands of years. Such an example is the Yellowstone caldera, which hasn’t erupted for approximately 70,000 years, yet it’s still considered dormant.