Tectonic–climatic interaction have sculpted their local and regional environments. Aside from admiring their majestic beauty, one might wonder how these geologic wonders work and what role they play in changing the landscape and atmosphere. Principally, volcanoes are geologic features that exude magmatic material from below Earth's surface onto the surface. Upon reaching the surface, the term "magma" disappears and "lava" becomes the common nomenclature. This lava cools and forms igneous rock. By examining igneous rocks, it is possible to derive a chain of events that led from the original melt of the magma to the crystallization of the lava at Earth's surface.
Potrillo volcanic field are five maars in the Potrillo volcanic field. A cinder cone also known as scoria cone, is a steep, conical hill formed on top of a vent. The cinder cones often occur in groups usually on the sides and around the shield volcanoes and the strato volcanoes. They are formed form lava fragments called cinders, it is magma that is glassy and has hundreds of gas bubbles that are frozen, it cools quickly after it is ejected into the air. The lava is expelled from the vent and formed around the vent when they fall back after it is ejected.