From Wood and Kienle (1990): "Capital Mountain is a relatively small
andesitic shield volcano with a roughly circular summit
caldera 4 km in diameter. The shield consists chiefly of
lava flows and subordinate
volcaniclastic rocks that dip 3 to 25 degrees away from the summit area. The caldera, apparently of non-explosive origin, is filled with thick, flat-lying flows. Talus, flow breccias, and pillow lavas occur locally between the caldera wall and intracaldera flows. A prominent andesite
plug, 100 m high, marks the general center of an area of post-caldera-fill activity and is the locus of a spectacular radial
dike swarm. Shield and intracaldera lavas are chiefly hypersthene andesite, but shield lavas range in composition from
basalt to
dacite. Dikes are also chiefly andesite; one prominent
rhyolite dike originating from a small rhyolite
laccolith extends almost completely across the
volcano."