Is There Actually A Volcano In Austin?

Austin is best known for its music scene and tacos, but also now a volcano because of the TV show 9-1-1 Lone Star.

Monday's episode of the firefighter drama featured a volcanic eruption in Austin. The plot line had Texans and non-Texas asking if there actually is a volcano in the state capitol city.

There is! Austin is home to an extinct volcano. Around 80 million years ago, there was an active volcano at what is now Pilot Knob in southeast Austin. Pilot Knob is now a hill that blends in with the Central Texas landscape, but geologists say it was once partially underwater.

"It's the stump of a marine volcano that erupted back during the late Cretaceous Period. The time frame I'd put on, it is 80 million years," Charles "Chock" Woodruff, a geologist with the University of Texas, told Fox 7.

Geologists also say multiple volcanoes were active in Central Texas at that time.

"In the bigger picture, Pilot Knob is not alone, there are at least another half-dozen or so smaller volcanoes in the Austin area. Most of them are buried by the city, underneath buildings, and not very well-exposed," Don Parker, geology professor at Baylor University, told the Austin American Statesman.

While 9-1-1 Lone Star highlighted a part of Austin's ancient history that most people don't know, Austin isn't at risk of a volcanic explosion. That part of the plot came from the writers' imaginations.

Photo: Getty Images